Philadelphia Phillies: Rhys Hoskins’ regression is startling

Is Rhys Hoskins playing for his Philadelphia Phillies career?

It seems like a lifetime ago when Rhys Hoskins EXPLODED onto the scene for the Philadelphia Phillies back in the Summer of 2017 when the big right-hander bashed 18 Home Runs in his first 34 games in Red Pinstripes.

He was absolutely out of his mind. His posting numbers overall through that 34 game stretch were staggering, with the Big Fella slashed .310/.442/.1.247 while driving in 39 runs and scoring 32 more. This torrid stretch implanted Hoskins as the next big thing in the mind of many Phillies fans.

Big Hosk eventually cooled off, but still finished that rookie campaign with strong numbers overall; slashing .259/.396/.1.014 to go with 18 long balls and 48 runs batted in through 50 games while posting a WAR of 2.1 (which incredibly is the highest WAR he has ever posted).

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The following season, expectations were obviously high. The Phillies were entering the backend of their rebuild, and finally had their star player to help lead the franchise towards another run at a World Series title. To be quite honest, the sophomore season posted by Rhys was pretty solid in itself. The Phillies stayed in the race for the NL East way longer than expected; led by Hoskins’ 34 homers and 96 RBIs.

Once the Phillies signed Bryce Harper and traded for J.T Realmuto before the start of the 2019 season, the franchise believed it had the middle of their lineup locked in for the next 5-10 years. But as we all know now, that’s not how the story unfolded. Things went off the rails for Hoskins in 2019 and he quickly became a huge liability anchored in the middle of the Phillies lineup. Over his final 101 games last season, the slugger slashed .196/.342/.747 with 16 homers and 43 RBI; a significant fall from his rookie glory.

So what does that tell us about number 17? To me, it signals that the true outlier is the incredible stretch the Big Fella had to start his career. I always believed Rhys Hoskins was set to become Paul Goldschmidt; a power-hitting right handed bat with outstanding plate discipline. While Hoskins has shown glimpses of that type of production, nowadays, he is a shell of the player he was supposed to be. At some point, you have to wonder when the Phillies will decide they have seen enough.

With top prospect Alec Bohm waiting in the wings, the clock could be ticking for Hoskins. Yes, I know Bohm is currently a third baseman, but there has been concern over whether the third overall pick from 2018 will be able to stay at the hot corner. There is a thought out there that the Phillies could transition him to first base, essentially leaving Hoskins without a position.

The Big Fella is certainly not a good defensive player. He is a much better first baseman than he was an outfielder, but really, that isn’t saying much considering he was historically bad in left field during the 2018 season. I guess with the designated hitter looking like it is set to become a full time thing here in the next few years the argument to have Hoskins as the DH moving forward is there. But if things keep going the way they are, even that doesn’t seem too realistic.

Watching Hoskins at the plate in 2020, it almost feels like he is hoping he won’t have to swing the bat. Through the first seven games this season, Hoskins has gone 3-22 at the plate (.136 BA) but has also been walked nine times, giving him an OBP of .387. The walks are nice, but I think we can all agree we would rather see The Big Fella trotting around the bases after hitting a ball into the seats.

With his Philadelphia Phillies tenure potentially on life support, it is clear this season is crucial for Rhys Hoskins. Now the question becomes will he seize the moment, or will his career fizzle out as quickly as it came on?