CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Bryson Stott swung and missed at a pitcher¡¯s pitch on Sunday in Sarasota, and he felt good about it.
Orioles right-hander and old buddy Zach Eflin threw Stott a sinker away during an at-bat at Ed Smith Stadium. Eflin followed with a changeup, which looked like a sinker out of his hand. Same spin, same spot. Everything.
¡°I couldn¡¯t have hit the ball more off the end of my bat,¡± Stott said on Tuesday morning at BayCare Ballpark. ¡°But it was a full swing. I was like, ¡®Oh, wow. It didn¡¯t hurt.¡¯¡±
Stott injured a nerve in his right elbow last May. The rest of the season, whenever he swung and missed a pitch and hyperextended it, he felt numbness in his fingers. It contributed to his struggles. He batted .245 with 11 home runs, 57 RBIs and a .671 OPS, taking a step backward from an encouraging 2023, when he hit .280 with 15 homers, 62 RBIs and a .748 OPS.
But Stott is healthy this spring. He is batting .310 (9-for-29) with one home run, five RBIs, 10 walks, five strikeouts and a .901 OPS in 13 Grapefruit League games.
¡°Spring Training numbers are more for show,¡± Stott said. ¡°You can¡¯t really tell how someone¡¯s feeling. But I feel good. That¡¯s all that matters.¡±
Stott feels good because he feels free when he swings.
¡°Not really getting stuck anywhere,¡± he said. ¡°I got into some bad habits last year with all the stuff going on. It forced me into losing my energy to first base. I was falling toward first. Just trying to get the bat around, it would make my body go [to the right] just so I could get around and not snap my arm in half. I think I just got into a subconscious bad habit [that led to me] not really being able to hit the ball to left.
¡°I was fine when the pitch was in, because I was leaning that way already, but just being able to swing and where the ball goes is where it goes is a good feeling. [I'm] not thinking about my arm and not thinking about anything other than seeing the ball and putting a good swing on it. It¡¯s just being more free and letting it rip.¡±
Stott¡¯s two favorite swings this spring illustrate how he feels:
He hit a line drive to left field on Monday against Blue Jays right-hander Chris Bassitt. The ball would have fallen for a hit, but the outfielders were playing in with the wind blowing in from left. Stott liked how he stayed on a 3-2 sinker.
He also liked how he waited on a 2-2 curveball from Red Sox right-hander Adam Ottavino on March 11 in Fort Myers. Stott hit a line-drive single to left.
¡°I feel stronger and the ball is coming off my bat a lot better,¡± Stott said.
Stott feels like he is in a good place with Opening Day nine days away. He will start the season hitting in the lower half of the Phillies¡¯ lineup, but manager Rob Thomson has said in the past that Stott has the stuff to be a leadoff hitter.
Maybe the opportunity will present itself at some point. If not, a productive Stott means a deeper, more dangerous offense.
¡°I think he can hit .300 in this league,¡± hitting coach Kevin Long said.
Stott has a .487 on-base percentage this spring. It's a small sample size, of course, but he sees no reason he can¡¯t get on base more than he has in the past. He had a .315 on-base percentage last season, which matches his career mark, after getting on at a .329 clip in 2023.
¡°My gig is getting on base, whether it¡¯s walking or hitting,¡± Stott said. ¡°It counts the same.¡±
Bryce Harper led the Phillies last season with a .373 on-base percentage. Kyle Schwarber was second at .366.
Stott said he doesn¡¯t know what is considered a good on-base percentage for an everyday player.
¡°I know everybody talks about [Juan] Soto¡¯s [OBP] being .400,¡± Stott said. ¡°That sounds cool.¡±