Philadelphia Phillies: What To Do With Rhys Hoskins
By CJ Luther
after a disappointing season stamped by a brutal finish, should the Philadelphia Phillies explore moving on from Rhys Hoskins?
Is Rhys Hoskins long for the Philadelphia Phillies?
Before 2019, asking this question would have seemed ridiculous, and after the 26-year-old’s massive Opening Day grand slam, doubting his future in Philadelphia would have seemed even more foolish. Hoskins had all the makings of the middle-of-the-lineup bat needed as the club set its sights on the NL East crown.
On paper, Hoskins seems like a perfect antithesis to the Phillies $330MM superstar Bryce Harper. While Harper does his damage via an aggressive approach from the left side of the plate, Hoskins makes use of excellent patience to drive pitches from the right side.
Harper’s fast, level swing produces more line drives, whereas Hoskins’ swing looks to maximize launch angle, a paradigm of the sabermetric approach that has swept baseball in recent years. With these two in the center of the Phillies offense, the team had what looked like an incredibly potent lineup.
After losing their divisional lead to the eventual-division champion Atlanta Braves on June 12, the Phillies scuffled to a disappointing 81-81 finish. The team faltered down the stretch, going just 25-30 in the season’s last two months. Hoskins found himself in a nasty slump during this same stretch, perhaps unfairly serving as a projection of the team’s struggles.
From August 1 through the end of the season, Hoskins hit a putrid .166/.308/.326, good for a 63 wRC+, per Fangraphs. His finish to the season raised some serious questions, with his future with the team chief among them.
What exactly caused Hoskins’ slump, and what can he do to recover from it? If he can’t right the ship, should the Philadelphia Phillies consider moving him, specifically for some help in the rotation?