The Phillies have promoted young slugger Rhys Hoskins to the active roster for the first time today, as MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki first reported (via Twitter). It had been anticipated that he’d receive a promotion at some point in the near future, but the precise arrival date was not yet clear.
Hoskins, 24, has raked in obscurity for most of his minor-league career since going to the Phils in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. But prospect evaluators have come around on his future outlook as Hoskins has continued to dominate opposing pitchers into the upper minors. He’s currently considered one of the game’s hundred-best prospects by both Baseball America and MLB.com.
While Hoskins could surely have drawn an earlier call-up, the Phillies were not willing to bump him up in place of fellow young first baseman Tommy Joseph. Instead, the Phils have decided to give Hoskins a run in left field. Whether he can handle the position in the long run remains to be seen, but he’ll get a shot to do so in the majors and will test his bat against top-level pitching — allowing Philadelphia to assess both him and Joseph for the future.
At some point, production is hard to deny. In Hoskins’s case, he has impressed more than ever this year at Triple-A. Over 475 plate appearances, he’s slashing a robust .284/.385/.581 with 29 long balls. That’s impressive in and of itself, but what’s especially encouraging is the fact that he’s walking nearly as much as he’s striking out (13.5% versus 15.8%).
It’ll be interesting to see how Hoskins looks in left and how the Phils handle the logjam over the winter. For now, the rebuilding club will be content watching its top young talent compete in the majors. Several other players have filtered up this year, and long-awaited shortstop J.P. Crawford may not be long in making his own move — depending upon how the organization decides to handle incumbent middle infielders Freddy Galvis and Cesar Hernandez.
Really excited to see what he can do. It’s a shame he’s been kept down as long as he has been by a below replacement caliber player.
THIS
Joseph is negative 0.5 WAR at Baseball-Reference.
I see no reason to put Hoskins in LF. If Joseph wants to get playing time he should go out into LF.
I hope Hoskins doesn’t get a serious injury out of this. Really, really stupid by a lame Phillies Front Office that is afraid to make decisions.
Dead on.
That was meant for the response talking about ‘I don’t want to hear about a serious injury’…he’s a ballplayer and I would think Hoskins is pumped at the opportunity.
A ball player playing out of position, one that he does not condition himself for during his off season training regimen.
FINALLY
I need him to get 10 games in the OF before he kicks Joseph off first
From a fantasy perspective lol
Give him a week until he is batting fourth and playing first every game from here on out. In fact, Pete may bat him fourth tonight.
A bunch of moronic Phillies fan here. Aside from the recent slump, Joseph hasn’t been as bad as some have suggested. He’s still developing too.
Joseph has a .305 career OBP and is a terrible defender. Guy is replacement level at best.
“He’s still developing too.”
Joseph is older than Mike Trout. Joseph is two years older than Bryce Harper and Manny Machado who will be in their walk years in 2018.
Joseph can’t field his position of 1B. If the Phillies F.O. won’t move Joseph out of Hoskins way then a concerned fan should smack Joseph hard on top of his head and then stand back and watch the fun unfold.
A little versatility never hurts. TJ is best suited off the bench but let Hoskins play a couple games in the outfield. I don’t wanna hear BS about him getting hurt he’s a baseball player he can play left field. Trey Mancini is playing LF this year and Hoskins is definitely a little more athletic. TJ will eventually hit the pine but altherr is out so unless they wanna see more Daniel nava in left field this is what you’re getting.
I’ve seen Hoskins play at AAA and he didn’t look like much of a fielder either to be quite honest. But given his offensive skills, the job should be his come next April. And that simply makes Tommy Joseph expandable. He is NEVER going to play the OF or any other position, and they have plenty of young OFs anyway. He will be gone by spring training without a doubt..
That’s not a fair comparison. Tommy was never as highly regarded as any of them.
He was very highly regarded, just injuries costed him his career behind the plate.
If you are referring to Joseph’s battle with concussion issues you are acomplete ass clown.
You’re an absolute buffoon. Get off the web and watch Joseph at the plate
Starting tonite against deGrom? Not nice. Maybe they should’ve waited til tomorrow — but other than deGrom, the Mets don’t have much MLB pitching this year…
Caseys partner said it all.Amen !
Joseph’s numbers would have been solid at catcher — less so at 1B. It’s a shame the concussions keep him from playing the position that best suits him, but facts are facts. Personally, I hope the Phillies make it a true competition. Joseph deserves a fair shot.
Tommy Joseph is to big and stubby he could never cover the whole left field
I’m sure he probably can’t even get through the before game running and stretches!!!
Haha
I saw Hoskins hit an absolute bomb this year in spring training that almost took a fan out. His power is legit and the Phillies should be excited for him as their everyday first basemen moving forward.