If I told you in January of 2020 that Rhys Hoskins would have a higher OPS than Mike Trout, you would’ve never believed me. To be fair, there’s a lot of things that you wouldn’t have believed in January of 2020.
Rhys Hoskins has a higher On-base percentage plus slugging percentage than Mike Trout, Anthony Rendon, and rookie sensation Luis Robert.
Since hitting his first homer of the season in Boston, Rhys Hoskins has slashed a ridiculous .333/.460/.784. In that span, 11 of his 17 hits have gone for extra bases. He has 13 RBI in 14 games.
In the past 4 days, Rhys Hoskins has raised his batting average from .218 to .268. Seven of his 9 hits have been extra-base hits in that time. All three numbers of his triple slash have looked like video game numbers. He’s consistently made good contact leading to a .563 batting average. His at bats are looking better than ever with a .611 OBP. And the ball is going a long way, leading to a 1.375 slugging percentage.
For any Phillies fan, Hoskins’ most impressive stat must be that he’s struck out only once in his last 28 plate appearances. Before that, He had at least one strikeout in 17 straight games.
Just last year, Hoskins put together a similar stretch that made me write about possible MVP contention. To be fair after, a 4-5 day against the Cardinals on May 7th, Hoskins was slashing .302/.425/.651 with 21 extra base hits and 32 RBI in 34 games.
He might not be an MVP candidate, but he is making noise. He’s a far cry from his last 100 games started of the 2019 season when he hit just .196. Some of the credit should be given to new Phillies’ hitting coach Joe Dillon. Manager Joe Girardi has noted Dillon when talking about Hoskins’ success.
With Dillon’s help, Hoskins might still live up to his rookie year hype.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire
