Secret to Phillies’ power-packed August: Discipline at the plate

At the 60-game mark in early June, Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long started bringing up his team’s chase rate and walk rate more often in hitters’ meetings. They were swinging at pitches outside the zone at a rate of 34.4%, third-highest in baseball at the time. They had one of the lowest walk rates in MLB, at 8.2%. It was a concerning trend.

Chasing less was always something Long preached, but it became more of a point of emphasis.

“There were only a few teams ahead of us, as far as least amount of walks,” Long said. “And I just told them, ‘It’s going to be hard to survive that way. If we want to be a good offense, we’re going to have to change that script.’”

As we approach the end of August, the Phillies are chasing only slightly less, but they are walking significantly more. From June 5-Aug. 30, they rank in the middle of the pack in baseball, with a walk rate of 8.6%. They are on pace for 525 walks this season, an uptick from their 478 walks last season.

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Part of this could be because of increased scoring, leading to more at-bats, but part of it is a more disciplined approach.

“If the team buys in, it makes it a lot easier,” Long said. “And I think there is a ton of team buy-in right now. To swinging at strikes, getting good pitches, and if a walk presents itself, take it.

“You’ve got to be willing to pass the baton and let the next guy do what he needs to do. If you’re always chasing a hit, or chasing a result — the result should be to get on base. And I think that’s what guys are understanding.”

Long doesn’t have to look at a box score, or check his team’s stats, to know that there is buy-in. He says he can literally hear it in the dugout.

“When guys spit on a tough pitch, you’ll hear — puh!” he said. “Like they’re spitting on a pitch. They take pride in it.”

The Phillies have started to reap the benefits of their discipline this past month. They’ve hit more home runs than any other team in baseball in August. Of those 59 home runs, more than half have come with runners on base. It’s a stark contrast from the first four months of the season. From March 30 to July 31, they hit only 42 home runs with runners on. This month alone, they’ve hit 35.

The two biggest contributors sit at the top and the bottom of the lineup. Leadoff man Kyle Schwarber has seen his walk rate jump from 12.9% to 17.1% this season. It’s a way he’s been able to get on base even at a time when he’s not hitting for average.

“It’s always been a thing in my game,” Schwarber said. “Obviously I think I’m doing it at a higher rate than I have in previous years; it’s just something that I’ve always done. I think the biggest thing, is when you’re not getting the hits, you’ve still got to find a way on base. And that’s just kind of how I’ll be. You know what, if I’m not getting the hits, I’ve still got to find a way on.

“But I don’t think we’re going up there trying to walk; I think it’s more having a really good plan and approach against pitchers. Making sure that we get the ball where we want it.”

Brandon Marsh, who typically bats eighth, has seen his walk rate nearly double. He’s raised it from 6.1% in 2022 to 11.2% in 2023. He had a four-walk game on Wednesday against the Angels. His last at-bat, in the ninth, ended in a groundout, but he worked Angels reliever Carlos Estevez to 12 pitches.

“I thought he was going to walk for a fifth time the last at-bat,” manager Rob Thomson said of Marsh. “Unfortunately, he didn’t. But that was a great at-bat. Maybe one of his best at-bats all day.

“He’s pretty locked in right now. He’s having great at-bats. He’s using the field. He’s not chasing. It’s good.”

It’s just another way that the Phillies are seeing an offensive resurgence, and it’s something they’ll continue to improve upon.

“I think you can see it in the approaches and the at-bats,” Schwarber said. “No one is perfect. Everyone is going to chase. Every one is going to swing at a ball. But say you swing at a chase pitch, but you see the next pitch, and it’s another chase pitch, you can take it. We want to stay in the strike zone as much as we can. Because when we do that, and we get traffic on base, we’ve got such a talented lineup and talented players that you’re one hit away from a big inning.”

Cristian Pache (right elbow irritation) returned to Lehigh Valley on Tuesday night to resume his rehab assignment. Thomson said his first game was “great.” Pache went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk. He will play another game on Thursday night in left field.

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