Which Philadelphia Phillies Breakout Star Is Bigger Surprise?

The Philadelphia Phillies have had no shortage of breakout stars in 2024, but which has been the bigger surprise?

Dylan Sanders | May 10, 2024

May 5, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm (28) / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

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Philadelphia Phillies

Along with the Philadelphia Phillies getting solid contributions from their well-known superstars, they've also gotten major contributions from some surprise players.

The two biggest breakout stars have been Alec Bohm at the plate and Ranger Suarez on the mound, but which was a bigger surprise?

As MLB.com went through each team's most surprising development so far, they gave the nod to Bohm.

A former third overall selection in the 2018 MLB draft, he has had a couple of solid seasons since being called up in 2020 but never broke out into a real star player. That has changed, though, with him becoming one of baseball's best hitters this year.

Among qualified hitters, Bohm is ranked within the top-10 in the following categories: wOBA, RBI, doubles and WAR. He has easily been the Phillies' best hitter despite being on a squad with bats like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Nick Castellanos.

One of the biggest changes in the 27-year-old's game so far has been his patience at the plate, chasing way fewer pitches. There is an 8.8% difference between this year and last in swings at balls outside of the zone.

His breakout hasn't really come from things that aren't replicable, so it's realistic for him to keep up this level of play for the majority of the season. Even if there is a bit of a fall off, he is finally showing the potential worthy of where he was selected.

As good as Suarez's year has been, it was a bit less surprising due to what he's done in the past, even if these numbers weren't quite expected.

The 28-year-old pitcher already had his Bohm-like breakout season back in 2021. He hasn't been bad since, but also hasn't maintained the same level of dominance. Now he's back to it and pitching better than ever.

It's a good problem for Philadelphia to have either way, but Bohm has definitely been the bigger surprise.

Published May 10, 2024

DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders