Philadelphia Phillies infielder Bryson Stott is having an outstanding May, helping lead the team to continue winning. He continues to step up while Philadelphia has been without key players.
With Trea Turner out, Stott has been playing shortstop in addition to playing his regular position of second base. At the plate, Stott batted third on Tuesday against the New York Mets after Bryce Harper was a late scratch due to a migraine. Harper is unlikely to miss any additional games. It was the first game this season where Stott batted third. Stott rewarded Phillies manager Rob Thomson for trusting him in that spot by drawing three walks and recording one hit while also driving in a run. Last season, he only batted third in one game.
In his last 15 games, Stott has a .354/.492/.667 line with three home runs and 16 RBI. He is also enjoying a six-game hitting streak. That streak includes four multi-hit games. Stott has also had two three-walk games during the hitting streak. In total, he has walked seven times during those six games while recording 10 hits. The six-game hitting streak has also seen Stott score seven runs and drive in nine runs. That includes a four-RBI performance against the Miami Marlins on Saturday. Additionally Stott has three stolen bases during this six-game span. For the season, the 26-year-old has a .281/.385/.455 line with four home runs and 26 RBI as well as 10 stolen bases.
Bryson Stott Having Outstanding May for Phillies
The most outstanding stretch for Stott this month came in the nine games he played in between May 1 and May 13. During that 40 plate appearance span, he had a .433/.525/.700 line with one home run and 11 RBI. Stott had a .507 wOBA along with a 231 wRC+ in those nine games, along with a .480 BABIP. He also recorded 13 hits and scored nine runs while also having five stolen bases in that interval. In ten games this month, Stott has a .438/.556/.688 line, one home run, 12 RBI, 11 walks, 14 hits and five stolen bases.
Stott is a major reason why the Phillies have a 10-2 record in May. During Saturday’s game against the Marlins, he hit a three-run triple to make it a 4-1 Phillies lead. That increased their win probability by 33.5% and led to an 8-3 win. On Monday against the Mets, Stott hit a home run to lead off the top of the ninth inning to make it a 4-3 Mets lead. That home run increased the Phillies’ win probability by 8.7% and started a rally. They tied the game later that inning after Alec Bohm was hit by a pitch with the base loaded, and went on to win the game in the tenth inning. There was a controversial check swing call involving Whit Merrifield as well.
The Most Impressive Statistics During This Hot Streak For Stott
While Stott currently has a six-game hitting streak and a 1.244 OPS in May, that is not the most impressive thing he has done this month. During those 40 plate appearances between May 1 and May 13, Stott had a 20.0% walk rate and a 15.0% strikeout rate along with a 90.4 mph average exit velocity. The 40 plate appearances for Stott from April 17 to April 30 that preceded that May 1 to May 13 stretch saw him have a 10.0% walk rate and a 20.0% strikeout rate along with an 87.4 mph average exit velocity. So in the span of a few weeks, Stott has doubled his walk rate while also decreasing his strikeout rate by 5.0% and increasing his average exit velocity by 3.0 mph. Stott also increased his hard-hit ball percentage from 25.9% during the April stretch to 38.5% during the May stretch.
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