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Philadelphia Phillies need Nick Williams to continue stepping up with Rhys Hoskins out

By Dan Parzych

LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 30: Nick Williams #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies is greeted in the dugout after a solo home run in the seventh inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on May 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 30: Nick Williams #5 of the Philadelphia Phillies is greeted in the dugout after a solo home run in the seventh inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on May 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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With the recent news surrounding Rhys Hoskins suffering a broken jaw, it’s up to Nick Williams to continue stepping up for the Philadelphia Phillies.

For the first time in what seems like forever, there is a ton of excitement surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies, as Gabe Kapler‘s team has exceeded all expectations heading into June.

When considering the Phillies have finished at the bottom of the NL East in three of the last four season, it’s amazing to see this team competing for a change, although they still have a long way to go.

At the moment, Philadelphia is keeping it close in the division race with the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, as they currently sit 1.5 games back of first place. With one more game in their current series against the Los Angeles Dodgers scheduled for Thursday, the Phillies will continue their west coast trip this weekend against the San Francisco Giants.

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Unfortunately, Philadelphia will have to do so without Rhys Hoskins, who suffered a broken jaw earlier in the week after taking a foul ball to the face, and is expected to head to the DL.

Even if Hoskins has been struggling for the most part from the plate throughout the month of May, the absence of their young outfielder still hurts since they were hoping to see him get back on track sooner rather than later.

Then again, the loss of a key player to an injury sometimes opens the door for other players to step up in their absence, and when seeing how Nick Williams has been playing as of late, at least the Phillies should feel a little better about the situation.

Not only is the 24-year-old coming off his second game in a row with a homer, but Williams has now recorded three home runs over his last five games with Philadelphia, although it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he got that batting average (.229 as of Thursday) up.

This current series against the Dodgers hasn’t been going the way the Phillies expected for the most part, and the last thing Kapler’s team can afford to do is fall further behind the top of the division race by recording losses in games they should be winning.

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Dating back to last season, there was always a ton of potential surrounding Williams, and with the recent injury surrounding Hoskins, here’s to hoping he continues coming up big for Philadelphia so they remain in great position when it comes to competing in the National League.

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