How J.T. Realmuto has unlocked his power and helped spark the Phillies’ offense

A few weeks ago, when the Phillies were in Arizona, J.T. Realmuto began talking to the hitting coaches about shortening his stride. He’s been working on it ever since — with mixed results. But lately, the change has started to show.

When the Phillies catcher is at his best, he’s driving balls to right-center and center field, and that’s what he’s done over his past week. He’s been on time, his swing looks more compact, and he’s gotten better pitches to hit.

The result? A .400/.423/.800 slash line over his last seven games entering Wednesday, including a two-homer, seven-RBI game on Saturday. He’s homed in on lots of things since he was activated from the injured list on July 20 after missing 32 games because of knee surgery, but he said shortening his stride has made the biggest difference.

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“I was getting a little too aggressive and overstriding, and that usually causes me to, one, be late, and two, not make as good of swing decisions,” Realmuto said. “Having a shorter stride and letting the ball come to me a little more allows me more time and allows me to make better decisions.

“That’s pretty much the only thing I’ve been focused on recently. Obviously, keeping good direction, but when I [shorten my stride], I’m able to keep good direction and stay to right-center by allowing the ball to travel.”

The reemergence of Realmuto’s power has correlated with the reemergence of the Phillies’ offense over the past week. It took him a while to find his swing, which is natural for a player coming back from an extended rehab. Assistant hitting coach Rafael Peña said it can be especially hard for players to load properly when they’re hitting not long after knee surgery.

Realmuto’s numbers lend credence to that theory. He hit .178/.289/.178 with a .466 OPS over his first 12 games back. He hit .230/.321/.311 with a .632 OPS over his first 20 games back, with a hard-hit rate of 20%.

Since then, his hard-hit rate has more than doubled to 42.9%, thanks in large part to his stride adjustment.

“When his direction is good, everything else seems to line up,” Peña said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. If he’s on time and his direction is working, he’s doing pretty good.”

Added manager Rob Thomson: “I think he’s more balanced. I think his timing is there. And, again, he’s using the entire field. He’s driving balls to right-center, center field, I think of our 11 hits last night, eight of them were either in the middle of the diamond or opposite field. That’s what you’re looking for.”

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Right-hander Spencer Turnbull (right lat strain) has begun throwing out to 90 feet. Thomson conceded that it’s late in the season, so the Phillies are trying to ramp him up quickly — without jeopardizing his health. It’s a delicate balance. Whenever Turnbull returns, he’ll come back as a reliever. The Phillies didn’t have enough time to stretch him out as a starter.