As the sun shines on Nationals Park, a new Opening Day awaits. After a long and arduous offseason, the biggest question for the Philadelphia Phillies has been answered. Manager Rob Thomson has finally revealed his first lineup of 2025.
Phillies opening day lineup
- Trea Turner SS
- Bryce Harper 1B
- Alec Bohm 3B
- Kyle Schwarber DH
- JT Realmuto C
- Max Kepler LF
- Nick Castellanos RF
- Bryson Stott 2B
- Brandon Marsh CF
After much speculation, shortstop Trea Turner has been pegged as the Phillies’ Opening Day leadoff batter. A large fuss was made in the offseason as to whether or not Rob Thomson would make a change at the top of the order. Turner had experience leading off with both the Nationals and Dodgers. In 487 career games at the top of the order, Turner has hit .302 with an .836 OPS.
“I’m just gonna try and wiggle it with Trea leading off vs. lefties and Schwarber leading off vs. righties and see where we go from there,” said Phillies Manager Rob Thomson pregame.
Atypical leadoff man Kyle Schwarber will move down to cleanup. As a leadoff batter, Schwarber has hit 151 home runs with a .504 slugging %. Surprisingly, he’s played just 81 games in the 4-hole. He had success in that 81-game run, hitting .271 with a .928 OPS.
Bryce Harper moves up to the 2-hole in the order. The 2-time MVP has just a .783 OPS hitting second. That’s compared to his career .911 OPS. Alec Bohm sits in the 3-hole where he will see plenty of RBI chances. He’s a career .311 hitter with runners in scoring position.
Catcher J.T Realmuto moves to the 5-hole. He’s a career .248 hitter at that spot in the lineup. He hit .266 with a .751 OPS in 2024, overall.
New left fielder Max Kepler had a fantastic Spring Training. After an injury-plagued 2024, Kepler hit .375 with a 1.175 OPS in the Grapefruit League. He’ll be batting 6th on Opening Day.
Nick Castellanos, Bryson Stott, and Brandon Marsh round out the bottom of the order. Thomson said he might switch Realmuto and Castellanos at some point in the season, but mentioned that Realmuto had a good swing as to why he was in the 5-hole today.
When asked if there’s too much of a deal made about the order, Thomson responded with “no doubt”.
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
