Alec Bohm of the Phillies responds to starting beside Bryce Harper and Trea Turner as an All-Star.
Alec Bohm, Bryce Harper, and Trea Turner were named the National League starts on Wednesday, meaning that the Philadelphia Phillies will have three infielders representing the league in the MLB All-Star Game in Texas.
Before Wednesday’s announcement, it was already known that Bryce Harper, the National League’s top vote-getter, would earn the start; nonetheless, he was joined by Trea Turner and Alec Bohm, two of his Phillies teammates. Although Harper is recovering from a hamstring ailment, he should be ready for action when the game rolls around. Turner defeated Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, who was already going to miss the game due to a fractured hand. Bohm defeated San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado to earn a berth in his first All-Star game. Bohm discussed the honor candidly.
about course, it’s something that children dream about. It’s not something to be taken lightly, according to Bohm, as reported by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. I think it’s just kind of cool to be able to have that moment with a couple of the guys that showed you the way, though, because I think it’s going to be cool to be able to look to my left and see the guy I play with every night over there and across the field and throw the ball to the guy I throw the ball to every night.
Second baseman Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks occupies the fourth infield position. For the three Phillies infielders, taking the field together in Texas will still be an awesome experience. For the Phillies, Bryson Stott has performed admirably. The Phillies are hopeful that he makes the squad as well, although it is uncertain at this point.
According to Rogers, Phillies manager Rob Thompson stated, “Hopefully Stott makes it as well.” “All four of Atlanta’s infield players made it last year.”
In 2023, Thompson was the manager of the National League squad, which included all of the Braves infield players.
The fact that the other three infielders were selected as starters, regardless of whether Bryson Stott makes it or not, is a testament to the Phillies’ exceptional play this season. Harper and Turner have a well-established reputation and have been prominent figures since their time with the Washington Nationals. Bohm has made an impression and is poised for his greatest season to date.
Alec Bohm’s progress while playing for the Phillies
For Bohm, these have been an intriguing few years. According to FanGraphs, he made his major league debut with the 2020 Phillies, hitting.338 in 44 games with a.400 on-base percentage and a 138 wRC+. This gave MLB fans hope for 2021 when they returned to a 162-game schedule following the COVID-19 epidemic, which had cut the 2020 season short to 60 games.
Bohm’s offensive performance in 2021 was not great; he hit.247 with a.305 on-base percentage and a 76 wRC+ (100 is the league average). With Bohm’s offensive production being closer to league average in 2022 and 2023 (98 wRC+ and 105 wRC+, respectively), those years were a little better. He’s really coming into his own this season, hitting.299 with a.351 on-base percentage and a 135 wRC+.
Furthermore, Bohm has significantly improved his defensive play. In his first four seasons, he had severe struggles, with DRS ratings of -6, -13, -17, and -10. He has a -2 DRA and a -2 OAA this season. While that is an improvement, that is by no means excellent. The Phillies can handle that caliber of defensive play given the offensive output.
For the benefit of the Phillies, let’s hope Bohm can maintain this kind of play through what would be undoubtedly his greatest season to date.
Experienced sports journalist Ryan Bologna writes about NCAA basketball, MLB, and the NFL for ClutchPoints. He received bylines from the Greenwich Free Press and New York Sports Nation while pursuing his studies in communication and journalism at UConn.
