He had settled into his St. Louis hotel room at around 4 a.m. that day, so Bryson Stott was confused when he saw that night’s lineup on his phone. His eyes went toward the bottom of the batting order on April 11. He did not see his name.

“And I was like, ‘I’m not playing?’” Stott said. “Then I looked at the top and I go, ‘Oh crap, I’m hitting first.’”

That is how he became the Phillies’ leadoff hitter. Stott batted atop the lineup for the first time in the season’s 13th game. He’s hit first in all 17 of his starts since. He is batting .270/.321/.392 from the leadoff spot, which does not guarantee him the job moving forward, but the Phillies were content to solve a debate without any fanfare.

For years, Kyle Schwarber served as the club’s untraditional leadoff hitter. Manager Rob Thomson tinkered with different combinations in spring training. It was either Schwarber or Trea Turner at the top. Until it wasn’t.

“Topper and I are to the point where he knows it doesn’t bother me where I’m hitting in the lineup,” Stott said. “Making it something bigger than it was probably wouldn’t have helped anything. Or changed anything. So, I looked at it, and I was like, ‘Oh, sweet.’”

The Phillies have had a robust debate about what they want from their leadoff hitter. If they wanted immediate intimidation, it’s Schwarber. If they wanted the most dynamic, athletic presence, it’s Turner. If they wanted someone who would see the most pitches while being able to hit with two strikes, it’s Stott.

More than anything, they have liked the idea of Stott as a pacesetter in front of Turner, Bryce Harper and Schwarber. In 2025, teams look at the leadoff spot in different ways. Some want their best hitter there. Others prioritize speed. Most teams do not have a set lineup or leadoff hitter; only 12 teams entered Monday having used the same player in the top spot 30 times this season. The league average on-base percentage for leadoff hitters is .325. So Stott is a tick below it while batting first.

For the season, batting anywhere, Stott has a .346 on-base percentage. A recent 2-for-15 stretch has dulled his numbers.

“Well, he’s been getting on base,” Thomson said. “If you’re doing that, you’re pretty darn good. Especially with Trea being .380 right behind him and Schwarber’s what, .400? I mean, those guys get on base, we’re going to score runs.”

It’s something Thomson will stick with. The Phillies will see all righty starters during this week’s six-game road trip through Tampa Bay and Cleveland.

“For the time being, sure,” Thomson said. “He’s having good at-bats.”

The Phillies trust the left-handed-hitting Stott enough to bat him at the top of the lineup against righties, but he has not started a game against a lefty pitcher since April 8. The Phillies have faced five lefty starters since; Edmundo Sosa, a right-handed hitter, started at second base each time.

For now, Thomson has said this is more about needing Sosa to have playing time. The Phillies have repeatedly said Stott is better than a platoon player, but they have treated him as such for most of his time in the majors. Stott, like any player, would like to play every day. He has shown progress in 2025, unlike Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh, the team’s two other under-30 starters.

The leadoff spot has helped reinforce Stott’s adjustments. He is seeing 4.52 pitches per plate appearance, the highest mark of his career. He averaged 4.07 pitches seen before 2025.

“I’ve always known the strike zone,” Stott said. “But I’m learning the borderline pitches that I know I could hit, I don’t have to swing at (them) if they’re balls. I think I can hit everything, so the ball that’s outside the zone, I didn’t want to leave it up to the umpire.

“But I’m just gradually understanding that I don’t have to swing at those borderline pitches. The umpire’s not going to miss every single one. They might miss a couple. Knowing and thinking that I can hit everything was a big problem. Chasing those borderline pitches that probably don’t even go down as a chase. They’re in that shadow of the strike zone that doesn’t count. Now I’m just taking those and watching them end up as balls.”

No one takes a first pitch like Stott. Last week, when Stott had accumulated 119 plate appearances, he was asked to guess how many times he had taken the first pitch.

“A hundred and fourteen,” he said.

It was 112.

“Close,” Stott said.

He’s up to first-pitch takes on 121 of his 130 plate appearances — 93.1 percent. That rate is the highest in baseball. Opposing teams know it; Stott will see strikes. But not always: Forty percent of his first-pitch takes (48) were called balls.

“I’ve kind of always done it,” Stott said. “I’m not Schwarber or Bryce, and it’s not going to be the only fastball I see. Or strike I see. I care about our pitchers a lot. So, if they have even an eight-pitch inning, I want to see as many pitches as possible (in the next half). There’s times I’ll pick and choose when I want to go. But nothing makes me madder than getting out on the first pitch.”

It’s on every scouting report. Is it a trend Stott will have to break at some point to be less predictable?

“I don’t know,” Stott said. “I mean, I’m still getting pitches to hit. Especially if I foul off some and they get tired of seeing me up there, they’re going to just want to get it over with. Like I said, it’s not the last strike I’m going to see.”

It comes down to an important attribute. “He’s comfortable hitting with two strikes,” Thomson said. Stott had immense success with two strikes in 2023, but less so in 2024. It’s a precarious way to live. There is an art to it.

He is comfortable doing it from the top of the lineup. Maybe it suits Stott and the Phillies well. Maybe not. At least there hasn’t been a constant debate about the leadoff spot.

“I mean, it’s always been Trea or Kyle, Kyle or Trea,” Stott said, “and I was just always sitting in the back, like, ‘I think I can do it too.’ It was always just waiting for the chance. Obviously, we’ve won a lot of games with Kyle and things like that. But we’re trying to change something up, and I feel like everyone’s kind of settled down. It’s not really a thing anymore.”