Bryson Stott once knew how Alec Bohm felt ... or still feels.

The Phillies’ rising second baseman was reportedly once on the trading block, as was Bohm in the offseason. Bohm appeared destined to have a future in Seattle, but the Mariners wouldn’t part with one of their front-line pitchers.

The Phillies’ brass also wasn’t content with Stott, and were looking for another option.

However, times have changed ... at least for Stott. The 27-year-old has dispelled those fears, and should be a fixture in the middle of the Phils infield for at least the next few years.

Yet, the key for Stott’s future will hinge on his consistency. He has a had a seesaw career with his bat, but remains a slick fielder.

More importantly, though, he may have found his place in the lineup.

In this week’s version of my Behind the Plate column, I’ll review Stott’s Phillies career, as well as reminisce briefly about some other second sackers in red and white pinstripes, and look into some other facts of the game.

Also, I’ll rekindle the career of a former Lehighton and Lehigh slugger.

Seismic Stott ... If you remember, Stott was the Phillies’ first pick of the 2019 June amateur draft. He moved through the system quickly, hitting better than .300 at both Reading and Lehigh Valley.

Jean Sugura, who was acquired from Seattle, had a solid four years in South Philly with a .281 average, some power with 43 homers, and a steady glove in the field. But the Phils decided to let Segura walk in free agency, and turned to Stott to open the 2022 season.

Stott clubbed 10 homers in his rookie season, and was solid in the field. However, he hit only .234 and went hitless in the World Series. There were plenty of questions surrounding Stott, including why the Phillies let Segura go.

But Stott answered his critics, as he responded with a 15-homer, 62-RBI, .280 season with 32 steals, 32 doubles and a .389 OBP.

His production slipped a bit last season when he had just 11 homers and 57 RBIs with a .245 average, 19 doubles, 31 steals, and a .315 OBP. It wasn’t a major drop off, but likely in the range of what an average season would look like.

April Showers Bring ... In his first four games this season, Stott started slowly, hitting just .200 with four strikeouts and four walks in his first 15 at-bats.

But Stott’s stock shot up in April. He had 27 hits in 86 at-bats for a .314 average and a .389 OBP. Stott also had a nine-game hitting streak, knocked in 13 runs and drew 10 walks opposed to 18 strikeouts.

Stott began May slowly, but has picked up the pace. Still, he carried a .162 average with nine strikeouts during the month heading into Sunday night’s game.

Overall, Stott was hitting .261 with three homers, 20 RBIs, and 21 runs scored before Sunday.

From the Top ... Throughout the offseason and into the early part of this season, the Phils continued their search for a leadoff hitter. They had incumbent Kyle Schwarber and tried Trea Turner.

It appears, though, they have found the solution in Stott, who since mid-April, Stott has been in the leadoff hole, and his average has hovered around .270 with 12 RBIs, two doubles, two triples, 14 singles, and 14 runs scored.

He has been patient at the plate, and recently worked a 35-pitch total in four at-bats in a 11-10 win over Miami that was the most for a Phillie since Brandon Marsh saw 35 in 2023.

If Stott can stay consistent at the top, the Phils will definitely stay in the hunt.

Short Second Stays ... Since 1960, Chase Utley (2005-14) and Mickey Morandini (1991-97, 2000) have handled the second sack longer than the rest of their predecessors and successors.

Tony Taylor was there from 1960-65, and was followed by the likely forgotten Cookie Rojas from 1966-69.

Denny Doyle was among the wave of minor leaguers who invaded the early 1970s, and was there from 1970-74.

Dave “Yes We Can” Cash stayed from 1974-76, before he surprisingly left for free agency to Montreal, and Ted Sizemore replaced him for two years from 1977-78.

From there, Manny Trillo was a key to the Phils’ World Series championship, manning the spot from 1979-82.

Joe Morgan (1983 “Wheez Kids) began the final phase before Juan Samuel, Morandini and Utley, along with Lancaster’s own Tommy Herr (1988-89), Mark Lewis — remember him (1998), Placido Polanco (2003-04), Marlon Anderson (1999, 2001-02), and Cesar Hernandez (2015-19).

Overall, Cash hit .296 in three Phillies seasons, and was among baseball’s best leadoff hitters during his time. Cash’s 699 at-bats in 1975 were only overshadowed in the leadoff spot for Phillies’ second baseman by Samuel’s 701 in 1984.

Cash’s .296 average was the highest among Phils’ second baseman since 1960, followed by Utley (.282), Trillo (.277), and Samuel (.263) — yes, Samuel also played center field.

A Bohm to Pick with You ... There have been some rumblings that the Phils might be interested in working out a deal for disgruntled Red Sox slugger and former third baseman Rafael Devers, who has requested a trade.

Heading into Sunday, Devers was hitting .280 with seven homers and 31 RBIs, while Bohm was hitting .239 with one homer and 12 RBIs. Devers could go back to his natural position and provide protection for Bryce Harper.

Devers is earning $27 million, and is in the third year of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract.

The Red Sox visit Citizens Bank July 21-23. He would look good in Phillies’ red.

Stay tuned.

Pirates’ Plights ... In case you missed it, Pirates manager Derek Shelton was fired Thursday after the Bucs got off to a 13-26 start that included a stretch of 10 losses in 11 games.

Bench coach Don Kelly was named interim manager and won his first game, 3-2 over the Braves. But Kelly was ejected for arguing balls and strikes during Saturday’s 3-2 loss, and the Pirates didn’t have a bench coach in place. Instead, they relied on third-base coach Mike Rabelo to take over. The previous day, hitting coach Matt Hague filled the role.

Saturday’s game marked the 16th straight game in which Pittsburgh scored five runs or fewer in a game, and the Bucs were hitting .218 as a team. Their 28 team home runs were tied for second last in MLB with the Blue Jays and White Sox.

Pretty Stingy ... One of the most overlooked stats through the first 40 games of the season may be pitcher’s ERAs.

Heading into this past Saturday’s game, there were six starters with an ERA under 2.00. They include the Yankees’ Max Fried (6-0, 1.05); the Rangers’ Tyler Mahle (3-1, 1.48), the Astros’ Hunter Brown (6-1, 1.48), the Royals’ Kris Bubic (4-2, 1.89), the Dodgers’ Yoshinobo Yamamato (4-3. 1.80), and the Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet (4-2, 1.93).

Ex-Phil Nick Pivetta had a 5-1, 2.01 mark with the Padres.

Scrapbook ... Each week, I’ll look back at a former local standout, some who advanced to a college career and others who had a stint in the pros.

Lehighton’s Jacen Nalesnik was a three-time school MVP, and helped lead Lehighton to a District 11 championship in 2010. He is the school’s all-time leader in hits (138), runs (112) and RBIs (113). He was a three-time Mountain Valley Conference first team member, a Max Preps Freshman All-American and the Times News Player of the Year.

Nalesnik earned a Scholar-Athlete award for the Mountain Valley Conference in baseball, basketball and football, which was the first time a student-athlete received the honor for three sports. Off the field, Nalesnik was the school valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average.

He continued his career at Lehigh University, where he was a star outfielder for the Mountain Hawks over four years from 2014-2017. Nalesnik ranks third in at-bats (702), third in hits (218), second in home runs (22), sixth in RBIs (123) and fifth in runs (140).

Nalesnik was a two-time All-Patriot League selection, earning first team honors during his senior season. Also during that season, he earned ABCA All-East Region honors on the second team, and was an All-ECAC First Team selection. He led the Patriot League in home runs (13) and slugging percentage (.606) his senior year, and ranked second in runs (53). His 13 homers are tied for the single-season program record.

He also had a stint as an assistant coach at Lehigh.

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