Bryson Stott is having a better rookie season than you might realize

Bryson Stott’s clutch home runs have been saving the Phillies

Bryson Stott might not be having a Rookie of the Year season, but that doesn’t mean he’s contributing more to his team than his stat line suggests.

On Monday night, Stott came up clutch twice, first with a two-out hit to put the Philadelphia Phillies on the board.

And then, in the bottom of the eighth, with the Phillies once again trailing the Atlanta Braves, Stott smashed his seventh home run of the season for the lead, and ultimately, the win.

Let’s talk about those seven home runs. As NBC Sports’ John Clark noted, the Phillies came into Monday’s game 8-34 when they trailed after seven innings. That record would be worse without Stott; five of his sevens bombs came with two strikes on the board, five were two-out blasts, and four of them either tied or gave the Phillies the lead. It’s his second three-run homer this year when the Phillies were behind in the eighth inning or later.

Stott’s home run off A.J. Minter was also only the second the Braves pitcher has ever given up to a lefty in his six-year career, and the first in almost three years. Before Monday, his last was to another Phillie, Corey Dickerson in September 2019.

All in all, Stott completed the first 5-RBI game by a Phillies rookie since Rhys Hoskins in 2017. He’s making his case to be their everyday shortstop, which means the Phillies have some decisions to make. Jean Segura will return within the next month, and Didi Gregorius, a free agent at the end of this season, is likely un-tradeable. Once again, their infield will be as crowded as it was on Opening Day, but none of that should be Stott’s problem. He’s got a better glove and more pop in his bat than Gregorius, so if the Phillies want to keep winning, Stott is the obvious choice.

It’s easy to pinpoint Joe Girardi using Stott as a utility man all spring and not giving him consistent playing time as the reason he got off to such a slow start. Over 24 games with Girardi at the helm, Stott hit .123/.180/.151 with a .330 OPS, nine hits, two doubles, and 25 strikeouts. Over his first 42 games with Thomson at the helm giving him more playing time, Stott hit .226/.307/.394 with a .701 OPS, 31 hits, five doubles, and six home runs.

Given more playing time and experience, the quantity will increase.

The quality is already there.