Philadelphia Phillies: 3 candidates to replace Kyle Schwarber as the leadoff hitter
By Tim Boyle
The Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup can remain less traditional yet more productive with J.T. Realmuto at the top.
On Saturday, with Schwarber getting the day off, Joe Girardi asked catcher J.T. Realmuto to leadoff for the Phillies. A catcher batting first is rare. Realmuto, though, is as much of a unicorn for the position as you’ll find. He is quick and athletic. Last season, he stole a career-high 13 bases.
Stealing bases is rare these days anyway so that’s not really a good argument in favor of putting him first in the Phillies lineup. His consistency over the years and ability to reach base at a good rate does.
Including Saturday’s start at the top of the lineup, Realmuto has gotten the chance to bat first 43 times. He entered the day with a lifetime slash line of .324/.364/.451 in this spot. It’s an impressively strong line for a guy who has spent most of his big league career batting in the middle of the order.
Realmuto may not be a traditional leadoff hitter. His OBP numbers aren’t even that strong, nor is his batting average. The same is true for Schwarber, though. The idea of him batting leadoff felt necessary mostly because the Phillies didn’t have any obvious candidate.
Realmuto should get more chances to hit leadoff for the Phillies this season. Girardi should be open about experimenting more with the top-of-the-lineup. We should expect Realmuto to give the rest of the roster a nice fight for that top spot.