How Strongly Will the Philadelphia Phillies Notice Kyle Schwarber's Absence?

The Philadelphia Phillies' injured slugger Kyle Schwarber is one of the greatest New York Mets killers of all time.

© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Kyle Schwarber has been perhaps the only consistency in the Philadelphia Phillies lineup throughout 2022.

The Phillies have been without Bryce Harper, injured since June 25. They have dealt with underperformance from $100-million-dollar-man Nick Castellanos. Rhys Hoskins, in typical fashion, has been streaky to an almost extreme degree; he has two months with an OPS over 1.000, and three months with an OPS below .790. The same is true for J.T. Realmuto, but to an even more extreme degree; his OPS was .679 as recently as July 10. It's now .788

Schwarber, meanwhile, has had an OPS cresting .800 since June 8 and has never looked back. Despite a rather tepid start to 2022, his strong July has fueled a very productive season.

His OPS+ of 125 is five points higher than his career rate of 120, even with his BABIP cratering to .225 this season. Schwarber's career BABIP is .267, so that's some seriously bad luck.

That said, the Phillies now have a stable of sluggers ready to take over Schwarber's offensive production. Hoskins, Realmuto and Castellanos have all been red hot, and with their left fielder likely out Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a calf strain, the rest of the lineup must be ready to take over his production.

Unfortunately, they all lack an x-factor that Schwarber provides in New York.

Realmuto's career slash against the Mets is .275/.318/.436, Hoskins' is .219/.334/.452, Castellanos' is .256/.314/.487. Those are all very respectable numbers, but Schwarber is perhaps one of the greatest Met-killers of all time.

His career slashline against the Mets is .297/.391/.662 with 16 home runs in 169 plate appearances. That's a 62 home run pace over a 162 game season. No one pummels Mets' pitching better than Schwarber. Even Chase Utley had a .900 OPS against the Mets, which is 153 points lower than Schwarber's.

The Phillies will miss Schwarber at the top of the lineup for obvious reasons, but mentally, they must overcome his absence while the bats of lesser hitters, like Matt Vierling, Brandon Marsh and even Nick Maton, take his place.

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