Kyle Schwarber crushed 56 home runs last season, producing one of the most prolific offensive campaigns in franchise history. In his first at-bat of the spring, he wasted no time looking like himself again, launching a 438-foot drive that cleared the entire stadium.
“I got a good swing on it, and it helps the wind was blowing out to right,” Schwarber told reporters in Clearwater afterward. “I don’t know if it needed it, but it made it look further.”
The distance was impressive. The timing was familiar.
Last spring, Schwarber hit just two home runs in 49 at-bats. The Grapefruit League box scores were quiet. The regular season was anything but. By October, he had authored one of the great power seasons the organization has seen.
That’s the context that matters. Established power hitters don’t require February or March validation. Spring for a veteran like Schwarber is about timing, rhythm and maintaining the mechanics that allow damage to happen once the games count. One swing in February doesn’t forecast September. But it can reinforce something steady.
For the Phillies, that steadiness is the real takeaway. The lineup’s tone-setter opened camp looking unchanged.
And the shape of that lineup may be coming into focus behind him.
Rob Thomson offered an early look at a potential top four: Trea Turner leading off, Schwarber batting second, Bryce Harper third and Alec Bohm in the cleanup spot. Spring lineups are fluid, but patterns tend to reveal intent.
The intrigue sits at fourth.
Bohm has handled the cleanup role before, though the recent returns were uneven. Last season, in 26 games batting fourth, he hit .216 with three home runs and a .571 OPS. Over a larger career sample in the cleanup spot — 158 games — the numbers stabilize: 18 homers, 102 RBIs and a .756 OPS. That profile suggests competence, even if it stops short of classic middle-of-the-order thunder.
If the Phillies opt for a more traditional power look there, newly acquired Adolis García is the other natural fit. In 76 games batting cleanup last year, García hit 13 home runs and drove in 39 runs while posting a .662 OPS. Over his career in that role — 443 games — he owns a .746 OPS with 92 homers while hitting .234.
That’s the spring decision worth tracking. Not whether Schwarber can leave the yard in February — he can — but what version of the offense the Phillies ultimately want behind Harper. A steadier contact-driven approach with Bohm? Or a more volatile, damage-first profile with García?
Schwarber’s first swing reinforced what is constant. The more consequential signal may be how the Phillies choose to build around it.
On the other end of the spectrum, right-hander Johnathan Hernández, a 29-year-old non-roster invitee, provided a different kind of early indicator. Tasked with a spring inning, he walked three hitters — each eventually coming around to score — and needed 26 pitches to navigate his outing, landing just 10 for strikes.
For a pitcher in Hernández’s position, the margin is thin. Non-roster relievers don’t need dominant March stat lines, but they do need strike throwing. Hernández last appeared in the majors with Seattle in 2024 and owns a 4.29 ERA and 1.44 WHIP across 127 career big-league appearances. The arm strength has earned him opportunities. The command has determined how long they last.
Spring training means different things depending on your roster spot. For stars, it’s about rhythm. For veterans fighting for innings, it’s about leverage. One inning in February won’t define Hernández’s camp. But 10 strikes in 26 pitches illustrates the challenge clearly: opportunity exists in the Phillies’ bullpen mix, but only for arms that consistently live in the zone.
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