Alec Bohm thinks he can hit 30-plus home runs. The signs of a power surge are there.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — You don’t need much of an imagination to see Alec Bohm as your classic power-hitting third baseman. He looks like one, for starters.

Standing at his locker at Bay Care Ballpark on Monday morning, the 27-year-old cut one of the most imposing figures in a room full of mashers. He is listed at 6-foot-5 and 218 pounds, but neither of those numbers does justice to his proportions. The broad shoulders, the thick hips, the lean muscle layered across his frame: He looks more like a linebacker than a contact-hitting infielder with a sub-.400 slugging percentage in his first three full big league seasons.

Looks can be deceiving. They can also be reasons to believe. The evidence suggests we should lean toward the latter with Bohm.

Think about the way he finished last season. Eight home runs, 35 games. That’s the equivalent of 37 home runs over 162 games, an output that would be nothing short of transformative for this Phillies lineup. Remember, Bohm had more at-bats with runners on base than everybody but Nick Castellanos. It’s difficult to overstate the impact of a few more fly balls landing on the dark side of the fence.

“The cliché is the power comes last,” Bohm said. “I’ve always been a good bat-to-ball guy. That’s kind of been something that’s been a blessing and a curse. I’ll get myself out on some pitches I probably shouldn’t swing at. That’s why I’d hit more ground balls in the past.”

From the moment the Phillies selected Bohm with the third overall pick in the 2018 draft, scouts and coaches have been waiting to see whether he will realize the power potential that lurks within. He still isn’t close to doing so. I mean that in a good way. The career-high 20 home runs that Bohm hit last season are a more-than-adequate total for a seven-hole hitter in his first year of arbitration eligibility. You can do a lot worse at third base than a .274/.327/.437 batting line.

But there is more in there.

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Bohm’s 20 home runs in 2023 were seven more than he hit in 2022, which were six more than he hit in 2021, his first full big-league season. The underlying power numbers have ticked steadily upward during that stretch, across the board.

Home run percentage: 1.7% of plate appearances in 2021, 2.1% in 2022, 3.3% in 2023.

Isolated power: .095 in 2021, .118 in 2022, .163 in 2023.

Extra-base hit percentage: 5.3% in 2021, 6.3% in 2022, 6.9% in 2023.

Percent of hits for extra bases: 23% in 2021, 24% in 2022, 33% in 2023.

Bohm is a deliberate guy. Introspective, analytical, self-aware. He takes everything about his craft seriously, from his body to his swing to his approach at the plate. He arrived in the majors as a certain kind of hitter, and he remained true to that. His final year at Wichita State, he had 39 walks and only 28 strikeouts while hitting .339 with 16 home runs. During his pandemic-shortened rookie season with the Phillies, he hit .338 with four home runs in 180 plate appearances. After a tough 2021 in which he hit just .247 with a .647 OPS, Bohm was back in prove-it mode. Now, after a couple of solid seasons in which he has more than shown his staying power at the plate and in the field, he is finally in a position where he can focus his efforts on expanding his game.

“I would think that the home runs will probably get a little bit better this year,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “Who knows where it’s going to end up. Is it going to be 30, 35? I don’t know. But it could be.”

That’s a heck of a thought for a manager. Any time you are still talking about “could-bes” with a 27-year-old, fifth-year pro who has established himself as a legitimate starting third baseman, you are talking about something major that could break right.

Bohm knows it, too. Asked whether he thought he could yet become a 30-home-run third baseman, he did not hesitate.

“I think I can do that, absolutely,” Bohm said. “All things considered, you have to stay healthy, you have to stay consistent every day. But I believe I can do that, yeah. Now, am I going to try to go do that and say, I have to homer today so I can get to 30? No.”

That’s exactly what every Phillies fan and coach and executive should want to hear. Bohm knows what he is capable of, and also what he is. With a week-and-a-half to go before opening day, it is a combination that offers one of the greatest sources of things-that-could-go-right promise for this Phillies season.

“Guys figure it out,” Thomson said. “They get stronger, and they figure out where their power is at, what pitches they can hit for power. He’s really learning how to hit the ball out front and pull the ball in the right situation. I hate putting numbers on people because you don’t know. But it’s there.”