Switch to the second spot in the Phillies’ batting order suits Nick Castellanos just fine

Nick Castellanos has been the Phillies’ most productive hitter. It made sense, then, that manager Rob Thomson moved him up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order over the weekend as part of an attempt to ignite the offense.

But there may be a benefit to Castellanos, too.

Castellanos rarely batted lower than third in his best seasons. He recently noted a difference in how he’s pitched when he’s nearer the top of the order. Specifically, when he batted ahead of, say, Miguel Cabrera with the Tigers or Joey Votto with the Reds, he said he tended to see a higher percentage of pitches in the strike zone, which would figure to benefit an aggressive hitter. Fewer strikes typically means more pitches to chase.

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”If I’m just blindly attacking the ball, taking aggressive swings, teams like last year are going to take advantage of me,” Castellanos said of batting lower down in the order, as he has for much of his time with the Phillies. “It’s just finding that happy balance of staying within myself.”

Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long agrees with that logic.

”Basically what he’s saying is, they don’t want to pitch to [Bryce] Harper and they don’t want to put him on, so he feels like they’ll attack him a little bit more in the zone,” Long said. “He’s a guy who’s up there ready to hit and he’s a bit of a free swinger, so he’s got some points there.”

The numbers support the theory. Entering play Monday night, his third consecutive game in the two-hole, Castellanos had an .844 on-base plus slugging percentage and 22.6% strikeout rate in his career as a No. 2 hitter. By contrast, he has a .790 OPS and 24.1% strikeout rate from the No. 5 spot.

Thomson considered all of that when he shuffled the batting order. Mostly, though, he saw an opportunity to push a hot hitter up to a spot that has been occupied by less effective Trea Turner, also a tailor-made No. 2 hitter who was dropped to the cleanup spot previously occupied by Castellanos.

In time, Turner and Castellanos may flip-flop again. But Castellanos, who has said he’s content with batting wherever Thomson sees fit, makes enough sense there that he may fill the role on a more permanent basis.

“He definitely enjoys hitting second. That would be his ideal spot to him,” Long said. “He’s swinging the bat as good as anybody we have, so why not? And we’re looking for answers to get our offense going a little bit more consistently. Maybe shuffling it up a little bit pays some dividends. I don’t know. We’ll see. But I know he likes hitting in the two-hole and has had some success there.”

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After spending the early stage of his recovery from season-ending knee surgery at home in California, Rhys Hoskins is rejoining the Phillies this week. He has been cleared to get rid of the crutches that he has used since the March 30 operation.

Hoskins, a homegrown slugger and one of the Phillies’ longest-tenured players, is a leader in the clubhouse. And although it will be more difficult for Hoskins to lead when he’s unable to play, Thomson believes his presence can have a positive effect.

”It’s always good when he’s around,” Thomson said. “He’s got good perspective. He brings some energy. He can be a sounding board. But for anybody that’s not playing, it’s tough to lead a group.”

Alec Bohm tested his strained left hamstring by fielding grounders before the game.

The Phillies are hopeful that Bohm will return by Saturday, when his 10-day injured list term expires. Thomson said Bohm won’t miss enough time to necessitate a minor league assignment.

The Tigers’ visit week marks the last series at Citizens Bank Park for Cabrera, who plans to retire after the season. The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer made more frequent appearances here with the Marlins early in his 21-year career, even playing at Veterans Stadium in 2003, but has played only two games in Philadelphia since 2007, both in 2019.

In 40 games here entering this week, Cabrera is a .319/.390/.529 hitter with 12 doubles and seven homers.

“He’s really one of the greatest right-handed hitters in the history of the game, if not the best,” Thomson said of Cabrera, 24th all-time with 3,107 hits. “We played [the Tigers] a lot when I was in New York, and he was just a tough out every time. Just really the complete package.“

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Cabrera also left an impression on several former Tigers with the Phillies, notably Castellanos. As a young player, Castellanos admired Cabrera’s laid-back personality, which seemed to work for the hitting savant.

“Absolutely,“ Castellanos said. “Don’t take it too serious when you’re doing well, and don’t take it too serious when you’re doing bad. Sometimes I do a good job with that. Sometimes I don’t. He did a fantastic job with it.”

The Phillies will leverage the day off Thursday to skip the vacant No. 5 spot in the rotation, according to Thomson. They won’t need a No. 5 starter until Tuesday in Arizona, when they are expected to run another bullpen game. … José Alvarado (left elbow inflammation) remains on track to pitch Tuesday night for double-A Reading and could return from the injured list over the weekend. ... Nick Maton and Matt Vierling, traded to the Tigers in the January deal for reliever Gregory Soto and infielder Kody Clemens, received their National League championship rings before the game. ... Triple-A outfielder Jake Cave, who began the season with the Phillies, was named International League player of the month. He batted .400/.500/.798 with 16 doubles and had a 21-game hitting streak in May. ... Taijuan Walker (4-3, 5.65 ERA) will start Tuesday night.

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