Back in 1982, there was an epidemic of catastrophic proportions: kids all across the land were trying to launch their BMX’s into the sky….
….thanks to the movie E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial. Anyways, the synopsis of the movie is that an extra terrestrial gets stuck on Earth and tries to get back home. After trials and tribulations, with some positive and negative interactions with those pesky humans, E.T. finally makes it to his ship and gets whisked off home. In order to get in contact with the mother ship, though, E.T. constructs a device and “phones home.” That’s exactly what Alec Bohm of the Philadelphia Phillies needs to do because he looks like he’s in a foreign land right now. Let’s dig in and see if we can uncover anything.
Through 15 games and 65 plate appearances, Bohm is slashing .156/.169/.188. The walk rate is 1.5%, the strikeout rate is 23.1% and the ISO is .031. He has not hit a home run or stolen a base yet this season.
In the prior three seasons, Bohm was a modicum of consistency. He was the MetroBohm. The batting average was in the .280 range with a walk rate in the 5 to 7% range, the strikeout rate in the 14 to 17% and a BABIP around .300. The ISO was .118 three seasons ago but, over the last two seasons, it was .163 and .168. He could be counted on for over 600 plate appearances, around 15 home runs, four stolen bases, 70 runs, and 90 RBI.
Currently, the BABIP is .204, so he’s been unlucky, but the walk and strikeout rates are well off the last few seasons.
The Statcast data looks promising. The average exit velocity of 92.3 mph is well above the career 90.4 mph. The launch angle of 6.8 degrees is well below the 10 degrees of the last few seasons. The barrel rate of 8.2% is the second-highest of his career while the hard hit rate of 51% is the first time over 50%.
The batted ball data shows that he’s hitting more ground balls while the pull rate is below 30% for the first time since 2021.
The plate discipline numbers are good. The 6.6% swinging strike rate is the lowest of his career, and so is the 93.8% contact in the strike zone. Bohm is chasing more pitches outside the zone – 33%. It’s been above 30% only one other time.
I’m not seeing anything to be too concerned about with Bohm. It seems like an early-season funk and he just needs to get back into rhythm. Once he does, Bohm should get back to hitting near the top of the order and producing. Granted, Bohm is not going to win any leagues, but he offers solid production and will probably go on a short-term heater soon.
This article is right on time for me. Someone dropped him in a 12-team dynasty and I bid $27 of my remaining $205 to pick him up (dropped Eugenio Suarez).
Good luck!