Philadelphia Phillies: 5 players who might be due for a rough 2021 season
By David Esser
Rhys Hoskins, 1B
After an absolutely abysmal second half back in 2019, Rhys Hoskins started to find his stride again this past season. He hit 10 home runs and drove in 26 RBIs across 41 games for the Philadelphia Phillies, ultimately finishing with an .887 OPS – the second highest mark of his career.
However, the super unfortunate part of Hoskins’ 2020 was of course the torn UCL that he suffered late in the regular season. Not only did it contribute to the Phillies end-of-year collapse, which caused them to miss the postseason, but it also set up Hoskins for what might be a somewhat difficult 2021 season.
As I’m writing this, it sounds like Hoskins expects to be ready for Opening Day. However, there’s no guarantee, and torn UCLs aren’t something players particularly heal from quickly. If there’s any doubts surrounding Rhys’ overall health status during Spring Training, the Phillies will definitely opt to hold him out of practices and workouts.
Even if Hoskins is 100% healthy for the regular season, playing on a recently rehabbed elbow might prove fairly difficult for the young slugger. I’m still overall quite confident in Hoskins’ ability and talent, but if he’s still experiencing some lasting effects from his injury, it might take him a full year to get back into the swing of things.