Bryson Stott will earn his first All-Star nod
Bryson Stott showed immense growth in 2023. The Phillies second baseman put himself on the radar of top upcoming talents in the NL, posting a .280/.329/.419 slash line with 15 home runs and 31 stolen bases. He was a finalist for the Gold Glove Award and could (should) have easily won.
2024 is the year that Stott will make everyone outside of Philadelphia sit up and take notice with his glove and his bat. The third-year Phillie will earn his first All-Star invitation and head to Arlington, Texas, for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.
Stott was one of the Phillies' best, most consistent players for much of last season. From Opening Day through Aug. 11, he slashed .302/.345/.445 with 11 home runs, 47 RBI and 22 steals. Then things got rocky. In his final 47 games, he hit .222 with a .631 OPS, four home runs, 15 RBI, and nine stolen bases.
Stott believes he has more to give and is aiming for an even bigger year, as reported by MLB.com's Todd Zolecki.
“That’s the gold standard of baseball,” Stott told Zolecki this spring. “Everybody’s goal is to hit .300. I was there. I had a bad month. It goes away fast. ... but I think I was right there last year.”
Owner John Middleton feels the same way. He heaped praise on his young second baseman earlier in training camp.
“Stott, I think, already is a star,” Middleton told Zolecki. “He’s a finalist for the Gold Glove. He should be an All-Star, in my opinion, this year. He could be winning the Gold Glove. That’s what you need.”
Like Harper's MVP chase, Stott will be in tough against some top NL second basemen. Projections see him putting together 2.2 to 2.5 fWAR for the season, which puts him behind Mookie Betts, Ozzie Albies, Ketel Marte, and Nico Hoerner, to name a few. Most models predict him to finish in the back half of the top 10 second basemen.
But we believe in Stott, and look forward to seeing him represent the National League in Texas in July.