Phillies takeaways: Kyle Schwarber's slump, Bryce Harper's progress, new LF platoon?

New York Times

4 hours ago

MIAMI — The road to Kyle Schwarber's go-ahead, center-right homer Thursday at loanDepot Park started with taking care of the little things that pop up in-season.
His first move at the plate. Hips spinning out and positioning. Realizing the differences on certain at-bats were super small. Keeping his mindset right.
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'I mean, he could hit two homers tomorrow and go crazy,' hitting coach Kevin Long said Wednesday. 'I've seen him before when he's searching and he's not in a good spot. His confidence hasn't wavered. He feels good about himself going up to the plate.'
Schwarber entered Thursday hitting .148/.268/.295 (.563 OPS) in June, with 25 strikeouts in 61 at-bats, before powering the Phillies' 2-1 win over the Miami Marlins.
The cause? It's hard to pinpoint. But one could be little things coming up, as Schwarber said.
Manager Rob Thomson has attributed it to tough pitching and potentially movement at the plate. Schwarber has faced more off-speed pitches this month, seeing 16.9 percent in June compared to 12.2 percent in May. He's hitting .250 against those pitches in June versus .316 in May.
The designated hitter has seen 65 fastballs in the zone in June versus 79 in May and 102 across March and April — so, nothing too different. But, after hitting .389 against fastballs in May, Schwarber is batting .138 against them in June, with his whiffs up to 27.3 percent versus 20.9 percent last month.
Another factor: Long said, at times, Schwarber has been off just a touch, high or low, on the barrel. But he's hitting the ball hard, reaching more than 100 mph exit velocity on three swings Wednesday. Long said he's felt good about Schwarber's at-bats and mechanics lately.
It's baseball. There will be slumps. And, at the end of the day, Schwarber maintaining the clip he was hitting at in May (.288/.403/.644, 1.047 OPS) was going to be difficult.
Schwarber felt good about his at-bats versus the Blue Jays last weekend. Then came some frustration with hitting the ball hard and seeing little success at the plate in Miami — until Thursday's 428-foot shot in the eighth.
'It's just trying to be able to minimize the struggles and get back on track as soon as you can where, you know, I struggled for a week and half, almost two weeks,' Schwarber said. 'But feeling like, if you keep putting in that consistent work throughout the course of the year, that more good things will happen through a longer stretch than bad things in a short stretch.'
Kyle Schwarber puts the @Phillies in front with a 428-foot blast! pic.twitter.com/yw8WAsQ4Mk
— MLB (@MLB) June 20, 2025
Aaron Nola, moved to the 60-day injured list Thursday, said he's starting to feel better. The sprained ankle that first sent him to the IL has healed. His right ribs, which were diagnosed with a stress fracture, have felt better — though he said he still feels it here and there. He's been running without pain.
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The caveat, of course, is Nola won't know how throwing affects his ribs until he tries.
'Hopefully in several days, I can start to toss a little bit, hopefully it feels good and then I can try to get back to normal stuff,' he said.
The 60-day IL move was mostly administrative, allowing the Phillies to open a roster spot. They promoted Buddy Kennedy, who recently exercised a mobility clause that would make him available to 29 other teams, after he hit .283/.388/.447 with eight homers for Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. Nola's IL move is backdated to May 15, when he was first placed on the IL with the sprained right ankle.
While Nola traveled to Miami with the team, Bryce Harper (right wrist inflammation) remained behind in Philadelphia for treatment and workouts. His range of motion improved throughout the week, and he threw and took dry swings Thursday. The next step, Thomson said, is to get Harper outside Friday to throw more and swing off a tee.
It's not clear when Nola or Harper may be reinstated from the IL, though the right-hander can't return until July 14. Nola will need to go through a build-up, including throwing, bullpens and rehab starts. Swinging and throwing are, obviously, positive steps for Harper.
Weston Wilson, who was part of the platoon in left field with Max Kepler, was demoted to Triple A on Thursday. Thomson said he was optioned to get more playing time and work on his timing and swing. Wilson played in just six games in June, as Kepler saw more time.
Initially, it looked as though the Phillies might allow Kepler — who has hit .286 with a 1.090 OPS since June 9 — to take over the position. But Otto Kemp, who saw limited time in left in Triple A, could now 'possibly' play alongside Kepler in a strict platoon, Thomson said.
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'He's really athletic, and he runs better than people think,' Thomson said. 'He's a baseball player. He just is. He goes out and he plays and plays hard every day. I don't think much really bothers him.'
Kemp, slashing .282/.349/.333 since his debut June 7, has been valuable to the Phillies as they've overcome an early June slump. He's manned mostly first base in addition to third, so there were questions about where Kemp would play when Harper returns. That seems to be settled for now.
(Top photo of Kyle Schwarber: Jared Lennon / Getty Images)