Alec Bohm was one of the biggest disappointments for the Philadelphia Phillies throughout the 2021 season. If the Phillies want any chance of ending their decade-long playoff drought, they’re going to need 2020 Alec Bohm back on the diamond. 

Alec Bohm’s 2020 season was the first of his career, playing just 44 games in the shortened season as a rookie. Bohm hit .338/.400/.481 in 160 at-bats, with 4 HRs, 23 RBIs, 54 hits, and an OPS of .881. Bohm finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and the city of Philadelphia thought they had their next young star. 

Alec Bohm’s 2021 Struggles

The 2021 season came along, and everything just seemed to spiral out of control. Bohm finished the season .247/.305/.342, good for just a .647 OPS. He knocked in just 47 RBIs in 115 games and wasn’t seeing the ball at the plate like he was in his rookie year. His strikeout percentage went up 6% from 2020 to 2021, and his rOBA (offensive contributions ratio) plummeted, from .385 to .298. 

The defensive side of Bohm’s game was also a huge concern throughout the 2021 season. His fielding percentage dropped from .957 to .936, with -13 defensive runs allowed. He made 15 errors at third base and was always a liability whenever he was at the hot corner. It was hard towards the end watching Bohm play defense because you could basically just see his confidence going right down the drain.

Alec Bohm has the potential and skill to be a successful baseball player in this league. We’ve seen what he can do at the plate, that talent doesn’t just disappear. It seems like 2021 turned into a mental battle with Bohm, and it was really just a confidence thing by the end of the season. 

Bohm was sent down to Triple-A towards the end of the Phillies season and played 15 games with Lehigh Valley. He hit .271/.353/.407 with the Iron Pigs, with 16 hits and 24 runs scored. The fundamentals were coming back to Bohm down in Lehigh, and hopefully, that pressure taken off of him will set him up for a bounce-back 2022 season. 

The Phillies need Alec Bohm to play good baseball. With the potential movement of Didi Gregorious, you don’t know how elite of an offensive player you’re going to get in return. Bohm’s defense needs to be able to cover the left side of the infield, and he needs to get back to that contact-hitting, high exit velocity hitter that we saw in 2020. 

Mandatory Credit: Getty Images