The Philadelphia Phillies‘ 2022 playoff run was fueled by two aces, a surprisingly good bullpen, and a terrific offensive nucleus that included five or six hitters peaking at the right time.
One of those hitters was Rhys Hoskins.
Hoskins has been a solid on-base and power threat for the duration of his career and had a great season in 2022.
Like most of his teammates, he disappeared in the last three games of the World Series and was dominated by a superior Houston Astros staff.
However, that doesn’t take away the fact he hit six home runs in postseason play in 2022.
That’s not too shabby.
Together with the 30 he hit in the regular season and his .846 career OPS at 29 years old, he positioned himself to earn a very good salary in 2023.
Today, his financial fate for the 2023 campaign was sealed.
“Sources: Rhys Hoskins, Phillies settle at $12 million, avoiding arbitration,” MLB insider Robert Murray tweeted.
Sources: Rhys Hoskins, Phillies settle at $12 million, avoiding arbitration.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 13, 2023
That’s a nice salary for him.
Hoskins has his flaws: his swing is so geared to hit fly balls that his batting average ceiling is capped even though he doesn’t really have a strikeout problem.
But he draws walks and hits for power, so he is a productive middle-of-the-order hitter.
This past season, he hit .246/.332/.462 with the 30 homers and 33 doubles.
He is not really fast and his defense at first base is not good, but as a hitter, Hoskins justifies his salary and gives the Phillies a real power threat to complement Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto, and of course Bryce Harper.
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