Kyle Schwarber: Heating up the Summer for the Phillies

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Within Major League Baseball, there are really three distinct seasons: the first two months which seem like extended winter, after Memorial Day to the 4^th of July and most importantly after the All-Star break.  For Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber, the second season has been an appropriate time to show why the Phillies picked him up this year.

At the half-way point of the season, the Philadelphia Phillies are actually looking to officially compete for the new third wild card spot and sitting at 43-38, they are poised to at least fight for that spot through the rest of the regular season.  Kyle Schwarber is partly responsible for the resurgence of the Phillies after a dismal early going in 2022.  During the Joe Girardi-led early season, the Phillies looked more like a sick, sad team wandering around and heading nowhere fast in the NL East.  Under interim manager Rob Thomson, the Phillies have found new life and are now on the winning side of .500 and actually look like a ballclub with postseason intentions.

Catcher-turned-outfielder Kyle Schwarber has been instrumental in the batter’s box this past month in helping lead the Phillies offense.  Schwarber leads the National League with 25 home runs, including four multi-homer games so far this season.  Furthermore, only Ryan Howard has more homers (28) than Schwarber through the first half of a season (2006) when Howard was named the National League MVP that year.  Schwarber also leads with 17 home runs as a leadoff batter through the first 81 games this season and has already surprised a franchise record in 2007 when Jimmy Rollins hit 13 dingers through the first half of that season and you guessed it -won the NL MVP award that year as well.

If numbers are any indication, Kyle Schwarber has finally come into his own as an offensive powerhouse for the Phillies.  From a paltry early season batting average of .219 to a more respectable .261 the last 30 games, Schwarber has solidified his position as a leadoff hitter who brings power to the plate early in the batting order.  With Bryce Harper out indefinitely due to his thumb injury (on top of his elbow problems,) the Phillies are going to increasingly rely on Kyle Schwarber’s hot bat to deliver the goods and keep them in the hunt for the postseason come October.