Phillies promoting top prospect Bohm to Majors

It’s a good week to be atop the Phillies’ prospect rankings.

After top pitching prospect Spencer Howard made his Major League debut Sunday, the Phillies promoted No. 31 overall prospect Alec Bohm on Thursday, the club officially announced. Bohm, 24, has been with Philadelphia’s alternate training squad based at Triple-A Lehigh Valley’s Coca-Cola Park since the end of Summer Camp. Outfielder Adam Haseley (wrist sprain) was placed on the 10-day injured list to make room for Bohm on the 28-man active roster, and right-hander Edgar Garcia was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man.

The Phillies selected Bohm with the third overall pick in the 2018 Draft. He joins White Sox infielder Nick Madrigal (No. 4), Royals right-hander Brady Singer (No. 18) and Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner (No. 24) as the only first-rounders from that year to reach the Majors. Along with Cole Irvin, Adam Haseley, Howard and Connor Brogdon, Bohm will be the fifth Phillies Draft pick under current general manager Matt Klentak to reach The Show. Klentak got the job following the 2015 season.

Bohm’s arrival adds a 60-grade hit tool and 55-grade power to the Phillies lineup. The Omaha native began his first full season at Class A Lakewood and ascended to Double-A Reading by the year’s end, hitting .305/.378/.518 with 21 home runs and 80 RBIs across three levels. He arrived in the Eastern League on June 21 and led the circuit in homers (14), RBIs (42) and total bases (119) through the end of the season. His power also didn’t come at the expense of contact, as Bohm was the only Minor Leaguer with at least 500 plate appearances, a strikeout rate lower than 15 percent and a slugging percentage above .500 in 2019.

"For me, if I strike out, I did nothing," Bohm told MiLB.com during Spring Training. "For me, I hate it. I don't know why. I've always hated striking out. I feel like if I put the bat on the ball, I'm going to give myself a chance to get a hit. It's out of my control. But it's my job to go up there and hit the ball hard. If I'm walking back to the dugout with my bat in my hand, I didn't do my job."

Bohm’s primary position is third base, though the right-handed hitter could fill a variety of roles for Philadelphia. Starting third baseman Jean Segura, batting .205/.354/.359, could move to second base, where Scott Kingery has posted a .100/.163/.100 slash line, and open up the hot corner for Bohm. First baseman Rhys Hoskins has hit .190/.404/.238 with no homers and one RBI through 13 games, and Bohm made 24 starts at first in 2019. Of course, designated hitter is an option, too.

“You’d have to juggle some things,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi told reporters last week when asked about a potential Bohm promotion. “When a [prospect like] Alec comes up, you want him to be able to play almost every day. That’s the kind of thing that you have to think about. You don’t want him sitting five or six days a week. He’s got to play a lot, so we’ll continue to look at that and make the decision when it’s the right time.”

That time has arrived.