Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has always been known for his power at the plate. He showed it many times during his days with the Chicago Cubs.
But sometimes, it takes a few years — and a change of scenery — for it to truly blossom into something special.
Schwarber spent six years with the Cubbies and slugged 121 taters for the organization before moving on following the COVID-shortened 2020 season. His power appeared to peak in 2019, as he slugged a then-career-high 38 homers with 92 RBI in 155 games played. But after posting a career-low .701 OPS through 224 plate appearances in 2020, Schwarber found himself on the free-agent market, looking for a new home.
The 2021 season marked his first career All-Star Game appearance while splitting the year with the Washington Nationals and Boston Red Sox. He landed a four-year, $79 million deal with the Phillies that winter.
And as soon as the 2022 season got underway, his assault on the franchise leaderboards began.
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Kyle Schwarber’s Annual Power Brilliance in Philly…
Schwarber has found a way to get near Howard’s stratosphere, though. The slugger’s first three seasons in Philly have produced the following homer totals:
- 2022: 46 homers
- 2023: 47 homers
- 2024: 38 homers
He arrived in the City of Brotherly Love with three seasons of 30-plus homers to his name, but he had never done it consecutively. So why not accomplish that while also putting together consecutive 40-homer campaigns, right? It only makes sense.
Schwarber’s 2022-23 performance immediately put him at the top of the Phillies’ single-season home run leaderboard. Here’s what it looks like now that Schwarbs has rewritten it a bit:
- Ryan Howard (2006): 58 homers
- Mike Schmidt (1980) & Ryan Howard (2008): 48
- Kyle Schwarber (2023), Jim Thome (2003), & Ryan Howard (2007): 47
- Kyle Schwarber (2022): 46
Not a bad way to immediately endear yourself to a fan base. It also doesn’t hurt that Schwarber has found a way to consistently deliver in October, too. He’s currently tied with Bryce Harper for the most career postseason homers in franchise history (12 each).
…Has Led to a Quick Rise on the Club’s All-Time Leaderboard
As you can imagine, these gaudy single-season numbers have led to a rapid rise through the Phillies’ all-time home run leaderboard for Schwarber.
At the time of this writing, Schwarbs has launched 161 taters as a member of the Phillies. That’s good for the 15th-highest mark all-time. He’s right behind Harper, who ranks 14th with 162 homers.
While injuries have limited Harper’s tenure in Philly, it’s worth noting that he’s been with the club since 2019, as opposed to 2022 for Schwarber. This is a great example of how it takes multiple things to fall into place for something like this to happen.
Has Harper displayed the type of incredible power that Schwarber has? Kinda, but not quite. Bryce has registered five seasons of 30-plus homers, but only one of those crested over 40 (he hit 42 in 2015).
So, Schwarber’s power is obviously elite. His 131 homers between 2022 and 2024 were the third most in baseball. The only dudes ahead of him are a couple you’ve probably heard of: Aaron Judge (157) and Shohei Ohtani (132). But what Schwarber also had going in his favor — especially in comparison to Harper — is relative health.
He’s played in at least 150 games per season since joining the Phillies. Harper has done that once (157 games in 2019). It’s worth noting that he’s appeared in 140-plus games for the Phillies on two occasions (2021 and 2024).
The wrench that could potentially get thrown into Schwarber’s ascent up the Phillies’ leaderboards is his impending contract status. His current deal expires at the end of the 2025 season. Will Dave Dombrowski bring the 32-year-old back on a multi-year deal, or could he pack his bags and switch cities for 2026 and beyond?
Until that’s officially figured out, we should just enjoy the power display he’s been putting on…especially when combined with what could be the best single-season OPS of his career.
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