Mike Schmidt: 548 home runs
Schmidt got off to a slow start in his Major League career, hitting just .196 his rookie season with 18 home runs. However, he quickly became the premier power hitter of his era and one of the best of all-time.
Schmidt led all NL players in home runs each of the next three seasons and eight times during his career. He surpassed 30 home runs 13 times and three times belted over 40, with a career-high of 48 in 1980. His 548 home runs ranked seventh all-time at the time of his retirement in 1989.
When Ryan Howard put together seasons of 58, 47, 48 and 45 home runs from 2006-2009, there were thoughts that he could make a run at Schmidt’s mark. However, with declining production and injury-plagued seasons, Howard retired a distant second with 382 home runs.
Of the current Phillies, who has the best shot, if any, of catching Schmidt? Bryce Harper has 13 seasons to make a run, although how much of a run can he make? His 162-game average is 32 home runs. To catch Schmidt in 13 seasons, Harper would have to “average” 42 home runs, which likely isn’t going to happen.
The next possibility is Rhys Hoskins, who at age 26 has 71 home runs. He’s averaging a home run every 14.4 at-bats for his career. To hit 478 home runs to pass Schmidt, Hoskins would need 6883 at-bats at that pace. He’d need 12 seasons at 558 at-bats per season, cranking out 40 home runs per season until the age of 38 to catch Schmidt.
Possible? Very unlikely, again to “average” that total means Hoskins would need a few seasons in the 50 home run range to compensate for likely significantly decreased output late in his career. The chances of that are slim to none.