The Phillies won on Opening Day against the Nationals. Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber hit home runs. Jose Alvarado struck out 2 in a scoreless inning.
These are all hard facts, but baseball isn’t just about hard facts. Baseball is interpreting what we see on the field. On Opening Day, there were plenty of things to think about.
He’s what I saw.
Turner batting leadoff will pay off
While he didn’t have an impact on the box score, Trea Turner looked the part of a leadoff hitter. In 3/5 of his plate appearances, Turner saw at least 6 pitches. In another, he walked. If he keeps doing that, Turner will be just fine at the top of the order.
And yes, his offense will come too.
The strikeouts were mostly due to shadows
MacKenzie Gore set a franchise record for strikeouts on Opening Day with 13. Zack Wheeler struck out 8. That’s 21 K in the first 6 innings.
In the last 4 innings, the team combined for 11 K.
What changed? The shadows between the pitcher’s mound and home plate had dissipated. At the height of the shadows, the ball coming out of the pitcher’s hand went through about 4 alternating layers of light and shadow.
After the game, Alec Bohm confirmed that saying, “You can’t see the ball, that’s why we struck out 30 times. We should probably stop playing at 4:00 so there’s a good product for people that come to the stadium.”
Jordan Romano will be fine
Yes. I know. Things got ugly when Jordan Romano entered the game.
Here’s why I think that was an outlier, not a common occurrence. Romano’s stuff didn’t pick up until the 3rd at-bat of his appearance. His fastball and slider were 2-3 MPH under his average velocity.
Something just went wrong. Maybe Romano isn’t used to coming in the 8th inning. Maybe he just needed more time to warm up. Who knows? Whatever the reason, there is no reason for overreaction at this time.
Will the Phillies miss Johan Rojas‘s defense? ]
During Thursday’s game, there looked to be 2 plays in which Brandon Marsh didn’t have a prayer to reach. Both times I watched thinking, “Could Rojas have gotten to that?”
Possibly. As we all know, Johan Rojas is an all-world defender in center field. He’ll certainly find playing time in 2025. If Marsh’s Opening Day golden sombrero has more to do with left-handed pitching than shadows, then he’ll certainly start appearing against southpaw starters.
Alec Bohm’s value is underrated
The Phillies almost certainly shopped around Alec Bohm on the trade market this winter. If they found what they were looking for, he wouldn’t be here. It seems that no team valued Bohm as much as the Phillies.
I think Alec Bohm is simply undervalued. He’s not a liability at 3B like he used to be. He’s arguably above average defensively, but that’s not where he’s majorly undervalued.
Bohm is one of the premier batters with runners in scoring position. What everyone saw on Opening Day is what Alec Bohm has done for his entire career. After his RBI double, he’s a career .313 hitter with RiSP. Give Bohm the respect he deserves.
Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
