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Phillies Leadoff Battle Has Clear Winner After Season Opening Series

The Philadelphia Phillies have a clear winner for their leadoff competition after the first four games of the 2025 MLB season.
ByDevon Platana|
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) shakes hands with shortstop Trea Turner (7) after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park.
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) shakes hands with shortstop Trea Turner (7) after hitting a solo home run during the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Citizens Bank Park. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Tuesday marks an off day for the Philadelphia Phillies, allowing fans to look back at the 2025 MLB season's first weekend. Although things weren't perfect, the Phillies did escape their first four games with a 3-1 record, putting them in a good spot to compete for another NL East title to begin the year.

Even though four games is a small sample size, it's been more than enough time to reveal a clear winner in the Phillies' 2025 leadoff batter competition.

Kyle Schwarber is Clear Winner of Phillies' Leadoff Competition

Phillies manager Rob Thomson teased some batting order changes to start the season, which included a competition for the leadoff spot. The battle was supposed to see Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner alternate leadoff duties against right-handed pitchers and southpaws, respectively, until Thomson had a better feeling of the situation.

Well, it only took four games into the 2025 season for Schwarber to run away with the leadoff job.

Through his first 17 at-bats, the two-time All-Star is slashing .353/.421/.882 while recording three home runs, six RBIs, and a walk. His 97.3 average exit velocity is the highest it's been since 2016 (101.6), proving that he is still capable of crushing the leather off baseballs into his 30s.

Even though the elite-level production might not be sustainable, continuing his strong start could see Schwarber cement his hold on the leadoff job. The former Silver Slugger excelled as the Phillies' No. 1 batter throughout the majority of the 2024 campaign, which included setting the MLB record for most leadoff HRs in a season (15).

As Schwarber is thriving, Phillies fans have barely seen much of Turner to begin the new season. Back spasms have limited the 31-year-old veteran to four ABs across two appearances, resulting in two walks and one run scored without a hit. Although there's still plenty of time left in the season to turn things around, Turner's abysmal start could be enough to cost him any potential leadoff duties.

With Schwarber's proven success as the leadoff man, the Phillies must continue with him in the role if they want to keep stacking up wins. As good as Turner is when he's healthy and playing to his potential, he currently isn't the reliable presence Philadelphia needs to start games. Hopefully, he shows signs of life as the season goes on.

In the meantime, time will tell if Schwarber can keep helping the Phillies build early-season momentum. Philadelphia heads into April with the fourth-best 2025 World Series odds (+1000) on FanDuel Sportsbook.

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