When the Phillies acquired Jonathan Bowlan in a trade over the winter with the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Matt Strahm, you would have been forgiven if it was the first time you were ever hearing about someone named Jonathan Bowlan. The 29-year-old had only appeared in 37 career MLB games to that point, spending the majority of his professional career in the minor leagues.
But the Phillies apparently saw something more in Bowlan, and despite an unglamorous spring, he has found himself primarily
used as the third right-hander out of the Phillies bullpen after Jhoan Duran and Brad Keller thanks in part to the previous absence of Orion Kerkering. So far in 2026, Bowlan has allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings pitched. But he also has five strikeouts and has yet to walk a batter.
He’s flashed some impressive stuff, as Bowlan is averaging 97.5 MPH on his fastball, a full 2 MPH increase from 2025. He’s thrown his new sweeper ten times and has generated a swing and miss on nine of those pitches. In addition to adding that sweeper, the Phillies also have had Bowlan change his pix mitch so far, throwing his changeup more and his slider less than he has in the past. Again, this is in a miniscule sample size of just 84 total pitches, but it will be interesting if this mix is the plan going forward.
Meanwhile the man traded for Bowlan, Matt Strahm, has allowed three runs in 4.2 IP for the Royals with two walks and five strikeouts. But whereas Bowlan’s velocity is up two miles per hour, Strahm’s is down two miles per hour to 90.1 MPH from his already diminishing 92.3 MPH from last season. The direction of both relievers will be something interesting to track as the 2026 season goes on.
So, what are your first impressions of Jonathan Bowlan? Is there something here and he’s only scratching the surface of what the Phillies pitching program can pull out? Or is he just an unimpressive depth reliever? Has anything Bowlan’s done stood out in any way to you, good or bad?
