With the Phillies searching for power, slugging first baseman Darick Hall may soon be a solution

One year ago Saturday, Bryce Harper got hit by a pitch and broke his left thumb. A few days later, Darick Hall made his major league debut and became the second Phillies player ever to hit home runs for each of his first three hits.

Think the Phillies could use a similar power surge now?

Entering Friday’s series opener against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies were 21st in the majors with 78 home runs, a 154-homer pace that would represent their lowest total in a 162-game season since 2015. Kyle Schwarber led the team with 20 homers; J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos were tied for second ... with eight apiece.

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Bryce Harper hadn’t gone deep in 101 plate appearances, the longest drought of his career. He figures the power will come. Manager Rob Thomson agrees, basing his optimism on the track records of not only Harper but Trea Turner, Realmuto, Castellanos, and others.

Meanwhile, Hall represents a potential power source and could be available to the Phillies within the next week.

“Yeah, he’s starting to swing the bat [better],” Thomson said Friday. “I talked to [triple-A manager Anthony Contreras] the other day, and he said he’s getting close to being Darick Hall at the plate.”

Hall hit nine homers and slugged .522 in 41 games last season while Harper was injured. After Rhys Hoskins injured his knee in spring training, the Phillies turned to Hall as the first baseman, even batting him cleanup on opening day in Texas.

But Hall’s opportunity was interrupted when he tore a ligament in his right thumb on April 5 at Yankee Stadium and had surgery a few days later.

Once Hall completed a minor league rehab assignment last week, the Phillies reinstated him from the injured list and optioned him to Lehigh Valley, where he must remain for at least 10 days. Barring an injury at the major league level, the Phillies can’t call up Hall before Thursday.

There would be a symmetry in that it’s the one-year anniversary of his major league debut.

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But there are other factors at play. Thomson indicated that Hall is still rounding into form defensively because the injured thumb was on his throwing hand.

“He’s not quite where he was, but he’s getting better,” Thomson said. “He’s getting close.”

The Phillies were able to buy extra time for Hall because they could option him to triple A without exposing him to waivers. They also were getting production out of Kody Clemens at first base. But since a 13-for-42 stretch from May 27-June 11, Clemens is 2-for-25 with eight strikeouts. He hasn’t homered since May 20.

Hall isn’t the only potential roster reinforcement in Lehigh Valley. Relievers Connor Brogdon and Andrew Bellatti may be getting closer to returning after being sent down to work on various things.

Bellatti, in particular, had a 1.80 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 10 walk-free innings. The Phillies wanted him to use his changeup more often as a weapon against left-handed hitters, who had a .421 on-base percentage against him when he got sent down. Thomson said the reports from triple A are that Bellatti’s changeup has been “a lot better.”

Brogdon, who has a 4.03 ERA in 27 appearances for the Phillies, got sent down two weeks ago to take on a multi-inning relief role. He pitched two scoreless innings Thursday.

» READ MORE: The Phillies’ Bryce Harper not sweating his homer drought: ‘The power will come’

If the Phillies are going to have a starter in the All-Star Game, it will be Harper.

Harper finished second among NL designated hitters in the first phase of All-Star balloting and advanced to next week’s positional run-off. He racked up 980,191 votes, trailing Dodgers DH J.D. Martinez (1,153,927).

Castellanos, the Phillies’ most deserving player for All-Star consideration, finished eighth among NL outfielders with 671,701 votes. He can still be selected on the player/coach ballots as an NL reserve. Thomson will manage the NL team.

The second phase of fan voting will begin at noon Monday on MLB.com and run through noon Thursday.

Top prospect Andrew Painter (elbow) threw 30 pitches off a mound in his fourth bullpen session in Clearwater, Fla. He’s scheduled for another bullpen in a few days. ... Right-hander Noah Song (back), a Rule 5 draft pick, likely will begin a minor league assignment next week at low-A Clearwater, according to Thomson. ... Hoskins and his wife, Jayme, raised more than $385,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association with their annual charity event Thursday night at Yards Brewery in Philadelphia. ... The Phillies re-signed lefty Michael Plassmeyer to a minor-league contract and returned him to the 7-day injured list at Lehigh Valley. They also traded Dalton Guthrie to the Giants for cash considerations Thursday night. The 27-year-old utilityman was 4-for-24 in limited playing time and got designated for assignment this week. ... Left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (0-0, 3.24 ERA) will start Saturday against Mets ace Max Scherzer (6-2, 4.04).