With doubles, home runs and walks, Hoskins off to strong start for season
Rhys Hoskins went into the abbreviated 2020 MLB season healthy and tinkering with his swing. He struggled early, managing two extra-base hits (both doubles) in the Phillies’ first 13 games while batting .190.
Though Oct. 5 Tommy John surgery on his left elbow limited what he could do in preparation for the 2021 regular season, Hoskins is off to a terrific start. Through eight games, he has a National League-leading six doubles, plus a home run, and is batting .357 for the 5-3 Phils.
“This is a guy who worked his tail end off just to be ready to play and I wasn’t sure, in a sense, how much work he got in compared to a normal off-season because you’re focusing so much on rehab,” manager Joe Girardi said during a Friday Zoom call. “I think the consistent hard contact has been most impressive to me. It seems like every ball he has hit is a rocket.”
Hoskins tied a career-high with three extra-base hits in Wednesday’s 8-2 home victory over the New York Mets. The highlight was a nine-pitch at bat in which he hit a homer to right-center field, to go along with two doubles.
While the first baseman from Sacramento State didn’t get the results he had hoped in spring training en route to a .205 batting average, Hoskins believes the last week of Grapefruit League play set the stage for his 2021 production.
“Pretty good first week at home,” said Hoskins on Friday. “The timing just clicked a lot faster than it has maybe sometimes in the past.”
When Hoskins gets a pitch to hit, he’s taking advantage of it.
“It’s special,” Girardi said. “I love watching it — I can tell you that. … I think Rhys is a patient hitter who grinds out at bats, walks a lot and has 30-plus-home-run power. When he’s really going well, he’s using the whole field. That’s who Rhys is. When you can do all those things, that’s a recipe for a really good hitter.”
After walking 29 times in 41 games last season and leading the NL in walks with 116 in 2019, which makes the 28-year-old Hoskins a logical No. 2 hitter, he hasn’t walked yet this season. Part of the reason is he’s generally not missing pitches, which sometimes resulted in walks in the past.
“The walks will come,” Hoskins said. “I’d rather be a hitter.”
The 6-foot-4, 245-pound Hoskins is relaxed and confident in the batter’s box. He’s no longer making numerous adjustments to his swing, so he has less to worry about and is just concentrating on driving the ball.
“That’s always the goal — hit the ball on the barrel as much as possible,” Hoskins said. “That usually gives us as hitters the best chance to be successful over a long period of time. That’s what I’m after.”
While Hoskins burst into the majors with 11 home runs in his first 18 games during August 2017, he has yet to bat better than .246 during a full season.
Hoskins, like the Phillies, was much more effective at Citizens Bank Park a year ago than on the road. He hit .288 with eight doubles and 21 walks at home, compared with .197 with one double and eight walks in away games. He was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in Friday night’s 8-1 road loss to the Atlanta Braves.
Meanwhile, the Phils were 19-13 at home and 9-19 on the road. To be a playoff team, Hoskins and the Phillies are going to have to do better this year.
“We got a different team this year, so that’s something that will be different,” Hoskins said. “There’s a whole different routine that goes on the road than at home. … We’ll see. We hope that trend is bucked this year.”