Rhys Hoskins: An Irreplaceable Player

Statistically Irreplaceable

Although Hoskins is in a major slump right now, he still has some stellar numbers over the course of the entire season. At the moment, Hoskins’ average sits at .239, his on-base percentage is .381, he has 24 home runs, and has a total 70 runs batted in. While his average is definitely low, the other three statistics are most notable in this situation. This season, the Phillies currently rank 18th in on-base percentage, 23rd in home runs, and 17th in runs batted in. The Phillies have been below average in these areas while Rhys Hoskins has thrived in them. This just goes to show how important Hoskins has been to this team. Why would a team trade a player that is successful in the areas in which the rest of the team struggles? It simply doesn’t make much sense.

To add to Hoskins’ value this season, according to Fangraphs, only 14 other players in baseball have been statistically better than him in each of those three areas. These players include MVP candidates such Mike Trout, Christian Yelich, and Cody Bellinger, as well as all-star caliber players like Carlos Santana, Alex Bregman, Juan Soto, Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Rendon, Freddie Freeman, Kris Bryant, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Josh Donaldson, and Ketel Marte. Despite his struggles as of late, Hoskins has put up all-star caliber numbers in three of the weakest areas of the Phillies this season. This would make it even more difficult for the Phillies to replace his production.

Some have proposed the idea of the Phillies signing Anthony Rendon and moving top prospect Alec Bohm to first base. While Rendon would fill the role of Hoskins in the lineup, this scenario has too many ifs involved. This scenario works IF the Phillies can sign Rendon away from one of their divisional rivals. This scenario works IF Alec Bohm turns into a superstar caliber player and not a bust like some of the Phillies recent top prospects such as Dominic Brown and J.P. Crawford. These two major question marks make the idea seem highly unlikely and unreasonable.

Financially Irreplaceable

Another counter to the idea of bringing in Rendon to replace Hoskins’ impact is the financial cost associated with the move. This offseason, Rendon will likely be looking to be paid like one of the top players in baseball. In comparison, Rhys Hoskins doesn’t become a free agent until 2024. Hoskins also isn’t currently making a whole lot either. At the moment, his salary is only $575k! That is equivalent to the contract of minor leaguer Nick Williams and is only slightly higher than what Andrew Knapp currently makes! The Phillies definitely have a major bargain in Rhys Hoskins. None of the 14 players previously mentioned make less than Hoskins. There just simply isn’t a player in Major League Baseball that can match the production and value of Rhys Hoskins at his current cost.

Since the Phillies have such a bargain in Hoskins, they have more “stupid money” to spend elsewhere in the offseason. Instead of spending it on someone who produces at a similar level to Hoskins, the Phillies could focus on the main weakness of this team: their pitching. Keeping Hoskins would enable the Phillies to pursue guys such as Gerrit Cole and Madison Bumgarner in the offseason. This is yet another example as to how valuable Hoskins is to this organization.

Slumps Happen

There is no denying that Rhys Hoskins is in a major slump. Anyone who knows baseball can realize that much. However, this should not change the narrative on a player. Every player goes through a slump at some point in time. In 2008, Ryan Howard struggled during the month of June as he only had a .234 batting average, an on-base percentage of .287, and only had 5 home runs. While Hoskins’ numbers are slightly worse than Howard’s were during his slump, there are other Phillies legends that experienced slumps like this. In 1975, Michael Jack Schmidt experienced a slump of his own as well. In the month of April, Schmidt had a .164 batting average, an on-base percentage of .253, and just 2 home runs. These numbers are much similar to those of Rhys Hoskins. Another similarity between these slumps are that they came at approximately the same point of each of the player’s careers. Can you imagine if the Phillies would have traded Mike Schmidt? It may seem like Hoskins’ situation is different, but in reality, it is just a slump, something that every player goes through.

When Rhys Hoskins came to the big leagues, nobody expected a whole lot from him outside of Philadelphia. He was never a top prospect and was relatively unknown. Hoskins quickly put the league on notice with one of the best starts to a career in MLB history. Prior to the signing of Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins was the face of the Phillies. Now, after just one slump, people are calling for him to be traded and seem to be using him as the scapegoat for the Phillies’ struggles. Clearly the value of Rhys Hoskins has been overlooked by these individuals. If the Phillies do trade him, people will finally realize just how valuable and irreplaceable Rhys Hoskins really is. Hopefully this mistake will never be made.