Notes and Thoughts on Every Hitter in Phillies’ Presumed Opening Day Lineup

Phillies Opening Day is finally close enough to smell, and after six weeks of roster talk and ramp-ups, at long last, the at-bats and games actually count.

Cristopher Sanchez on Thursday makes his first Opening Day start for the Phillies, while 15-year veteran Nate Eovaldi makes the sixth of his career and third straight with the Rangers.

The Phillies will face right-handers Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom in the first two games, then lefty Mackenzie Gore in the third.

Let's take a closer look at the presumed Opening Day lineup of the Phillies, who used this batting in their final spring training game:

1. Trea Turner, SS
2. Kyle Schwarber, DH (L)
3. Bryce Harper, 1B (L)
4. Alec Bohm, 3B
5. Bryson Stott, 2B (L)
6. Adolis Garcia, RF
7. Brandon Marsh, LF (L)
8. J.T. Realmuto, C
9. Justin Crawford, CF (L)

Turner was the expected leadoff hitter all spring. He won the NL batting title last season and graded out as the fastest player in the majors. Seems sufficient.

Schwarber and Harper

There were questions whether it would be Harper two and Schwarber three or vice versa. The Phillies seem to prefer Schwarber second and Harper third, at least to start. It might be largely based on Harper's own preference. He has had far more career success batting third (.284/.397/.535, 251 of his 363 home runs) than batting second (.254/.334/.456).

Schwarber and Harper could flip a time or three during the regular season if it becomes apparent that one is in need of more protection than the other.

Both hit lefties so batting back-to-back isn't a problem. Schwarber set the MLB record last season with 23 homers by a lefty vs. lefties and has hit .275 against them the last two seasons. Harper has hit .287 the last three with 27 homers.

Turner has faced Eovaldi in only 2018 and 2023. He's 1-for-8 with a triple and two strikeouts.

Schwarber faced him only in 2023 and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

Harper has seen him much more and is 8-for-24 (.333) with a double, homer, four walks and eight strikeouts. His last nine plate appearances vs. Eovaldi, though, have included four strikeouts, two groundouts, a shallow flyout, walk and double.

Bohm at cleanup

This section has and will draw the most attention. There has been local debate whether Bohm or Garcia should hit cleanup. Bohm has more bat-to-ball skills and will hit for a higher average; Garcia has much more raw power and more closely fits the classic cleanup mold.

To start with, it looks like it will be Bohm fourth and Garcia sixth. Again, this could change in two weeks, four weeks, eight weeks or not at all. It will all be based on performance and how the lineup is or is not clicking. Whether or not this actually played into manager Rob Thomson's decision-making, a factor could have been not wanting to put outsized pressure on Garcia right away in the cleanup spot against his former team in his first series as a Phillie.

Bohm puts the ball in play a ton. He's averaged 37 walks and 87 strikeouts the last three seasons. He's hit into 57 double plays over that span and that will always be a danger when two of the top three reach base for him with one out in the first inning.

But he's also hit .307 for his career with runners in scoring position and has the consistent ability to hit line drives to all fields. Like most players, Bohm has streaks hot and cold. He's never entered a year more important than this one, with free agency looming. He knows this has to be a career year for him.

Stott fifth?

Same with Stott, who might get the first crack in the five-spot. Sounds weird because Stott is not at all the prototypical five-hole hitter. The Phillies prefer, though, to split up their righties and lefties as best they can, sans Schwarber and Harper. This means either Stott or Marsh would have hit to fifth and the other seventh.

Stott's second half of 2025 has been much discussed. He hit .315/.380/.517 over his final 46 games, just over a quarter of a season. What he and Marsh need to do is put together a full season. Stott hit .280 in in 2023 and has hit .251 in the two years since. He's been about 80% as effective as he was his best year. The signs — his second half, his spring — point toward more success, and the Phillies will need it.

Garcia sixth

Garcia talked about wanting to improve his plate selection, made it an offseason focus and then displayed the improvement in spring training with eight walks and five strikeouts in 49 plate appearances. The five strikeouts stood out in particular because he's struck out in 28% of his plate appearances the last five seasons.

Does it mean he's now a different offensive player? No, we won't know how much different or better he is until the sample size of real games reaches several months.

These were Garcia's three best years with the Rangers:

2023 — .245/.328/.508, 39 HR, 107 RBI, 65 BB, 175 K
2022 — .250/.300/.456, 27 HR, 101 RBI, 40 BB, 183 K
2021 — .243/.286/.454, 31 HR, 90 RBI, 32 BB, 194 K

The last two seasons have been a precipitous drop-off to .225/.278/.397 with averages of 22 HR, 80 RBI, 37 BB and 156 K.

If Garcia hits like he did in 2023, the Phillies would be thrilled. If he hits like he did in 2022, they'd be happy. Even the .286 OBP in 2021 was supported by 31 home runs and 90 RBI, which would be helpful.

He just can't be the player he was in 2024 and '25, which is closer to what the Phillies received from Max Kepler.

Garcia is a major X-factor, perhaps the biggest in the Phillies' lineup. The offense's ceiling would rise if he reverts to his prior form.

Marsh seven

This could flip-flop often between Stott five, Marsh seven and vice versa. There will be some lefties that Stott's swing or approach works better against.

Like his fellow 28-year-old lefty teammate, Marsh came on strong in the second half of 2025, hitting .329 with a .963 OPS in his final 52 games. We've seen Marsh have huge Aprils, hot first halves and hot second halves. The key for him and Stott is doing it for six months. They need to know to show that for the team and for themselves with free agency looming after 2027.

Marsh and Stott will start the first two games and sit the third as platoon partners Otto Kemp and Edmundo Sosa start vs. Gore.

Realmuto eighth

Realmuto is not the offensive player he was at his peak, still obviously providing value in so many other ways. His OPS has dropped the last four years from .820 to .762 to .751 to .700. He's still a stalwart behind the plate, with 134-plus games four of the last five seasons.

He's not being relied on anymore as a middle-of-the-order bat, though. Most teams, maybe three-quarters of teams, have a worse eighth hitter than Realmuto.

Realmuto spoke in spring training about focusing on driving the ball the other way this season. That's his swing path. He thinks it took too long for him last year to veer out of pull-happy mode. It's often much easier said than done.

He was one of the few Phillies who hit in the NLDS loss to the Dodgers, going 6-for-17 (.353) with two doubles, a triple and a homer.

The rookie at nine

Crawford, like Garcia, can raise the ceiling of the Phillies' offense if his skill set translates to the majors quickly. In the minor leagues, he's been a .322 hitter who has handled lefties and wreaked havoc on the bases.

The Phillies have not had a nine-one duo as potentially dynamic as Crawford and Turner in the young universal DH era. You envision innings when Crawford singles and advances to third on a Turner single, just ahead of Schwarber and Harper. Could result in lots of crooked numbers.

The Phils don't need Crawford to hit .300. If he holds his own, learns the day-to-day grind of 162, avoids prolonged slumps and hits something like .275 with a .320 OBP and speed, even that would be plenty in the nine-hole.