Phillies’ offense looks even better than advertised as Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos homer | Marcus Hayes

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The 2007 Phillies scored 892 runs, the most in recent franchise history. That record will fall this season.

Maybe by June.

Nick Castellanos hit his first homer as a Phillie in the first inning Monday. Kyle Schwarber hit his first homer in the third. Both sent cutters over the fence, and thereby joined the Phillies’ power surge.

Sunday, Bryce Harper homered twice against the Blue Jays, and his single Monday made him 6-for-13 in his last five games. J.T. Realmuto has three doubles and a home run, and with seven hits he’s hitting .333 in seven spring games.

The Phillies are producing more runs than bad potato salad.

Schwarber joined the lineup Wednesday. In the five games in which at least two of those four players played, the Phillies have averaged 7.8 runs. Granted, it’s just spring training, but ... 7.8 runs?

“It’s going to be a fun offense,” Schwarber said.

All according to plan.

Since 2019, owner John Middleton has committed $624 million to power personnel. That fantastic four — Harper, Realmuto, Castellanos, and Schwarber — will make nearly $90 million this season alone.

“We’ve added a lot of offense,” said grateful manager Joe Girardi. “The organization’s done a great job.”

They’ll be a bargain if what’s on paper comes to life.

If.

“It could be great, but, at the end of the day, that doesn’t mean [spit],” Castellanos said. “We’ve got to do it. We’ve got to execute.”

They will.

Consider this: That group of run-scoring mercenaries doesn’t even include Rhys Hoskins, a home-grown bomber whose numbers entering his sixth season are as good as any of the others.

It’s March Madness, with a new Fab Five.

But wait. There’s more.

Top prospect Bryson Stott leads the team with a .533 average, five walks, a .650 on-base percentage, and an .800 slugging percentage, which gives him a 1.450 OPS, which ranks third among all teams. He added two clean singles and a hustle double Monday.

Mickey Moniak, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016 and a surprise candidate for an outfield spot, leads the team with three homers, and he added a late double Monday.

» READ MORE: Phillies prospects Mickey Moniak, Bryson Stott stay hot and could start on opening day | Marcus Hayes

Veteran shortstop Didi Gregorious has recovered from the elbow injury that hindered him last season, and he’s hitting .313 with two homers. He sat out Monday. So did second baseman Jean Segura, whose .297 average since 2016 is, by far, the best among all Phillies.

They were not missed.

That 2007 Phillies club was legendary. It included 2006 National League MVP Ryan Howard, 2007 MVP Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley, who enjoyed the second of five straight All-Star seasons. Pat Burrell logged one of his four 30-homer seasons, and the Phils got 27 homers from Aaron Rowand, who made his only All-Star team that year.

This lineup is appreciably better. And deeper. In 2007, Abraham Nunez and his .600 OPS played second base. Carlos Ruiz played his first full season and was two years away from becoming an accomplished big-league bat. It’s not close, especially in the bottom of the order.

Segura might find himself in the lower third of the order, but if he bats second, as he has done most of his four seasons in Philadelphia, then Hoskins, a prototypical cleanup hitter, might have to cede that slot to Castellanos, who cleaned up Sunday and Monday. Hoskins might even have to bat sixth if Realmuto’s hot. Gregorious might hit seventh.

Harper prefers to bat third, and Schwarber was an astonishing success as a 230-pound leadoff and No. 2 hitter last season, but Girardi didn’t guarantee anyone a certain spot.

“I’m not really sure exactly what we’re going to do yet,” Girardi said. “We’re going to let it play out.”

Most players prefer to bat consistently in the same spot, but, for better or worse, Girardi sounds eager to tinker all season. He doesn’t want to be predictable.

“Depending on right, switch, left, all that you do — you don’t ever want to make it easy for the other manager,” he said. “I think our lineup’s going to be really deep. Someone has to hit seventh, eighth, or ninth. There’s gonna be production spots all through our lineup. Don’t get caught up with where you hit. Just be the hitter that you are. It could be special.”

Anything that gets them past September would be special.

The Phillies haven’t reached the playoffs in 10 years. Hoskins has lived through five of them, all as the most intimidating right-handed power bat in the lineup. He sounds willing to bat 10th now if it means he finally gets to play October baseball.

“All this talent means one or two guys don’t have to carry the load, where maybe they have the last couple of years,” Hoskins said. “It’s scary. Scary. It’s gonna be fun.”

It already is.