Philadelphia Phillies: Marlins find an old-fashioned way to slow Rhys Hoskins

Little has seemed to slow the Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins since his arrival Aug. 10. The Miami Marlins seemingly slowed him down just a bit September 2.

Since he arrived in the big leagues Aug. 10, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins has been fairly unstoppable – his first 12 at-bats notwithstanding. First, he tied the MLB record for home runs in 15 games (8); then, he became the fastest batter ever to reach 10 home runs.

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Saturday, the 24-year-old hit his twelfth homer and raised his batting average to .318 en route to a possible first-ever Phillies rookie cycle.

It was not meant to be.

Seemingly determined to hold onto a slippery lead, the Miami Marlins stumbled onto a way to slow Hoskins down.  Righthander Brian Ellington hit him with a 98-mph fastball in that mysterious area the rookie described as “just above my wrist and my palm.”  (Um – the lower upper wrist?  No matter – it hurt, I’m sure.)

Miami’s Method

Hoskins took first base but exited the game early for a clubhouse radiology consult that was negative.  It seemed unlikely that he would play Sunday afternoon, and indeed, that turned out to be the case when manager Pete Mackanin announced his lineup a bit before noon.

It didn’t appear that Ellington intended to hit Hoskins, but who knows what went through his mind once he did?  “There, that’s from all us NL pitchers”?  “Aw – that’s too bad”?  You know, not exactly intention, but….

How important is Hoskins to the Phillies?  What are we talking about if a later x-ray discloses a hairline fracture missed on the first study?

After Sept. 2 Hoskins’ OPS figure was 1.196.  His sample size is still small, but Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Ted Williams, who hold 13 of the top 15 OPS figures ever, had OPS figures of .746, 1.114, and 1.045, respectively, in their first significant seasons as batters – for Ruth, 1919, five years into his career; for the other two, their rookie years.

So, there’s that.

Next: Philadelphia Phillies: Roster expansions perfect for J.P. Crawford

The impact of a power hitter in a lineup depends on the team around him, of course.  Before play Sept. 3, the Phillies had lost more games in which Hoskins homered than they’d won (5-6), and the same was true for games in which he had driven in a run (6-7), but make no mistake:  Hoskins seems a sure bet, lacking a Domonic Brown-like hole in his swing, to be truly invaluable in 2018 and beyond.