Phillies: It’s time to call up top prospect Alec Bohm

The Phillies offense needs a boost that Alec Bohm could provide

Through this start and stop Phillies season there has been little continuity in anything, be it the schedule, offense, rotation, or bullpen. It’s hard to blame these guys after sitting for three months, ramping up over three weeks, then shutting down again for another week.

Through their first 10 games, the Phillies two biggest concerns have been the bullpen and offense. On games where the pitching shows up, the offense puts up a goose egg. In the five games where they score at least five runs, the bullpen has allowed at least four runs in three of them.

Philadelphia has guys in the Lehigh Valley camp who can come up to potentially help both the bullpen and offense, but no piece is bigger than top prospect Alec Bohm.

In 125 games between Lakewood, Clearwater, and Reading last year Bohm hit .305 with 30 doubles and 21 home runs. His batting average did dip down to .269 in Reading, but the home runs showed up in a very hitter-friendly ballpark with 330 ft. corners in the outfield.

With the expanded big league roster and implementation of the designated hitter, baseball has made it easier for the Phillies to consider bringing up the number one third base prospect in baseball.

There are a lot of ways the Phillies can use Bohm to boost their offense. He’s able to play third, first, and obviously can appear as the DH. The Phillies have split the DH appearances between Jay Bruce and Phil Gosselin with Rhys Hoskins, Kyle Garlick, Andrew McCutchen, and Neil Walker each playing one game as the DH.

Surprisingly, Gosselin has been the best DH for the Phillies by hitting .500 in 10 at-bats this year. The aforementioned guys who have also hit DH this year are hitting a combined 2-22 in that role, with both hits coming from Bruce.

The Phillies could move Bohm into that DH spot and let him hit every day, something Joe Girardi said needs to happen for Bohm to come up, or the Phillies can move players around and keep alternating the DH role.

Either Jean Segura or Rhys Hoskins could be the DH to give Bohm time in the infield. It’ll be almost impossible to trade Segura with his contract this year, and the offense need him to return to that .300 hitter they acquired from Seattle.

The Phillies don’t need Bohm for his power, though that will help, but they need that spark and someone who can get a big hit. That’s a lot to ask for from a 24-year-old who’s never played above Double-A, but Bohm has the makeup to be that kind of guy. The Phillies might as well start his clock and make it work whether he’s playing third, first, or DH.