The Phillies have to like what they’re seeing out of rookie infielder Bryson Stott.
Little leaguers are taught many things when they learn how to play baseball growing up. Among them is to “keep your eye on the ball” and to simply “put the ball in play.” Well, Philadelphia Phillies rookie infielder Bryson Stott seems to have paid attention to the advice.
Dating back to the 2022 Major League All-Star Break in Los Angeles, Stott leads all of Major League Baseball with a 1.7 SwStr% — a metric that divides swings and misses by total pitches.
According to FanGraphs, Minnesota Twins utility player Luis Arraez (2.9%), Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel (3.2%) and Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan (3.3%) follow Stott in order for the next-best SwStr%.
Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has the second-best SwStr% on the team since the All-Star break (7.3%), and ranks tied for 35th overall.
Just as impressive, Stott also has the lowest strikeout percentage in Major League Baseball since the unofficial second half began last month — 6.5% (four strikeouts in 62 plate appearances). Coincidentally, former prized Phillies infield prospect J.P. Crawford trails right behind him with a second-best 6.8 percentage.
Through 79 games and 282 plate appearances this season, Stott is hitting .204/.266/.327 with nine doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 37 RBI. While the Phillies would like to see each leg of his slash line increase, the 24-year-old Las Vegas native is hitting a much better .260/.275/.400 with four extra-base hits and 11 RBI over the team’s recent 11-2 stretch against the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals.
Meanwhile, in the field, Stott has been perfect across 169 chances at second base. At shortstop and the hot corner, he respectively has committed only two errors (112 chances) and one error (seven chances).
Perhaps Stott’s recent performance is just a coincidence, or maybe he is feeling extra good — given the Phillies chose to keep him instead of veteran Didi Gregorius when Jean Segura returned from the injured list. Regardless, Stott has played his way into the everyday lineup and will be a key contributor over the final stretch before hopeful postseason play.