Has Rhys Hoskins time in Philly come to and end?

Once touted as the future of the Phillies and “the face” of the mid-2010s rebuild, Rhys Hoskins has quickly become one of the most polarizing players in Baseball. From the streaks of inconsistent hitting to lazy and unreliable defense. Hoskins has been the source of headaches and heartaches for Phillies fans for years, which all leads to the question; has Hoskins’ time in Philly run its route?

Coming out of Sacramento State in the 5th round of the 2014 MLB draft, expectations weren’t sky-high for the 6’4 245lb righty. However, after 3 consecutive seasons of surmounting play in the minors, the young Hoskins seemed ready to make a run at it in the bigs. And so, on August 10th, 2017, Rhys Hoskins made his major league debut in South Philly against the New York Mets. Despite going just 1-13 in his first four games in the majors, the rookie Hoskins took off as the Phillies headed to San Diego for a 3-game tilt with the Padres. In game one, Hoskins sent the first two home runs of his career over the fence at Petco Park, and so it began. Over the next 2 months, Rhys would hit 18 home runs while maintaining a .259 batting average and a .794 OPS. And for many fans The verdict was out, Hoskins was the future.

Though seasons came and went, the MVP form we all expected Hoskins to take never did. In 2018 Rhys would bat .246 with 34 home runs, and though he lead the league in walks in 2019 with 116, a career-low .226 batting had fans questioning the kind of player Hoskins really was. As Rhys’ offensive production improved through 2020-2021, his defensive production seemed to do the contrary. Consistently ranked amongst the bottom of the league in every defensive category and becoming a visible liability night in and night out.

In 2022 Hoskins’ inconsistency finally came to a boiling point, though he came through in the clutch on more than one occasion the now 31-year-old went through multiple streaks where he was unplayable - not hitting for weeks and sometimes months at a time. Not to mention his defensive lulls. Though he looked solid at times, Hoskins’ inability to scoop and sometimes even catch simple throws from 3rd and Short lost the Phillies ballgames on multiple occasions.

All of this now raises the question of who could replace Rhys if he does indeed get the boot from the Phils clubhouse. Some names that have been thrown around that just make no sense; Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and JT Realmuto come with too much risk and just don’t work in the grand scheme of things. Which, barring any trade or surprise signing (keeping in mind the first base free agent class is one of the worst in years) would leave just two eligible bachelors; Alec Bohm and Darick Hall.

Bohm, has drawn comparisons to Hoskins in the past, In that of his polarizing and frustration-causing play style. Though Bohm may not possess the same power that Hoskins has, his ability to hit for average has turned him into one of the most formidable hitters in the Phillies lineup. That is when he isn’t slumping, like Hoskins, Bohm’s consistency at the dish has been questioned by fans and media alike. Although the 26-year-old batted a solid .280 this season with a .713 OPS, his slumps came much farther between than in his freshman and sophomore years. None of this however accounts for the Witchita State products fielding. Before becoming a revelation for the Phils early in 2022, Bohm was nearly unplayable at the hot corner. After the now infamous “I hate this f***** place” game, Bohm turned his season around; playing some of the best defense in the Phils infield. Many now question if switching Bohm’s position would restart the learning process all over again. In spite of the fact that Bohm played a solid first base at times in the past, there seem to be one too many questions as to if he can make the switch and provide +production from the spot.

The second and final plausible replacement figured for Hoskins was one Darick Hall. After getting the call in late June to replace the injured Bryce Harper, Hall made waves and became an offensive threat nearly immediately after joining the Phils lineup. The 25-year-old rookie blasted 9 home runs to the tune of a .250/.282/.522 batting line; good enough to make Hall one of the best Phillies rookies in recent memory. Despite his strong play and offensive production, Hall was optioned back to AAA upon Harper’s return to the bigs in early September. Though for a short time, it did seem as though Hall may have had what it takes to be the Phils 1st basemen of the future. However, Lack of experience and minimal playing time at the pro level is just the tip of the iceberg when proposing Hall to be Hoskins replacement. Taking under consideration as well that the 25-year-old has yet to play every day at the pro level, which could certainly become an issue come the regular season.

One fact that has surprised many when it comes to Hoskins play at first base is the stats that back him up. With a 2.9 WAR, Hoskins ranked among the top 5 Phillies in the category. Meaning, finding a statistically sound replacement for Hoskins wouldn’t come as easy as one may expect. While the likes of Alec Bohm and Darick Hall boast WARs of 0.8 and 0.4 respectively, it dosen’t make sense to throw either at the right corner while the team still has Hoskins under contract for another season. Many are not fans of the new age of analytics, but when the time is taken to research and envelope in them, it’s easy to see their benefit and how much they change people’s viewpoints on the game. It truly does help to give an entirely new view on the game and how to differentiate between player skill levels.

When it’s all said and done, and the squad is headed back to Clearwater I think we all know deep down who the 1st basemen of the Phillies will be. Rhys Hoskins has been in this organization for a long time and has always shown a willingness to learn and grow his game in any and every facet. Who’s to say that the veteran Hoskins won’t be willing to take a couple of extra ground balls each day in order to improve his lax defense? Only time will tell if we will see a new Rhys Hoskins, or maybe an even bigger change.