The dream Philadelphia Phillies starting lineup for Opening Day 2023
By Tim Boyle
Phillies dream starting lineup: Batting sixth Kyle Schwarber, DH
What a year for Kyle Schwarber. He led the National League with 46 home runs. He also led all of Major League Baseball with 200 strikeouts. There’s a lot for this .218/.323/.504 hitter to work on. He bats sixth in our dream Phillies lineup, where his power can be put to better use.
This assembled lineup of mercenaries is now six deep and includes nothing but guys capable of hitting 20 home runs rather easily. Putting Schwarber way down at number six, behind Castellanos, feels like a bit of a punishment. Your lineup might have him hitting somewhere else. I’m just thinking about breaking up the lefties a little bit.
If all Schwarber ends up being with the Phillies is a 40+ home run guy who hits around .220, it’s probably best to have him way down here in the lineup. Because this is our dream team, we get him to hit .240.
Phillies dream starting lineup: Batting seventh Alec Bohm, 1B
Things have suddenly taken a major turn. At first base, we have Alec Bohm. Where’s Rhys Hoskins? You deserve an explanation. Hoskins is traded, not because of what he did defensively, but in order for the Phillies to add an improvement to the rotation. Bohm, the younger of the two, slides over from third base to become the team’s starting first baseman.
Maybe Hoskins even goes to the Red Sox in the deal for Devers. It would cost Philadelphia a lot more than a soon-to-be free-agent first baseman. This is our dream, after all. It won’t cost them nearly as much.
If you’re one of those people who would rather keep Hoskins than Bohm, swap them out! But the lineup probably changes quite a bit. Bohm down in the seventh spot is decent. He has shown that while he lacks power, he can hit for average. Maybe he’ll find his pop.