Homerin' Hoskins: The Chalk's Coverage of Baseball's Exciting New Star

Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins acknowledges the crowd after his record breaking home run.

This past Sunday, Phillies rookie wunderkind Rhys Hoskins hit his record breaking eleventh home run in just eighteen career games. It was the young slugger's fifth straight game with a home run and it served as an insurance run in the Phillies' eventual 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Since his promotion to the major league club, Hoskins has hit posted a .297 batting average, 11 home runs, and 24 RBI. In the history of major league baseball, no player has reached eleven home runs in a shorter amount of time. While Aaron Judge may have been the talk of baseball prior to the All-Star break, it is hard to argue that there is a bigger story in all of baseball over the past few weeks than Rhys Hoskins.

In breaking down Hoskins' performance, a few particular stats leap out that lend me to believe that he will not be a flash in the pan. Obviously, power is a big part of Hoskins' game. Of his 19 hits, 12 have gone for extra bases (11 home runs and a double). Although the sample size is still incredibly small, his splits vs. lefties and righties are fairly comparable which is good to see in a young hitter. More often than not, we'll see massive splits in young power hitter who are much more capable at hitting pitchers of the opposite pitching hand (example: a lefty hitter hitting a right handed pitcher and vice versa). Interestingly enough, Hoskins is actually sporting an incredibly low BABIP (batting average on balls in play) at .227. Generally, we can expect to see this number at around .290-.300. However, some of this may be due to the fact that Hoskins is a fly-ball hitter and, as a result, more of his at-bats will end in pop-ups. Still, the low average on balls in play will likely meander back towards a more respectable mark at some point which should help maintain his batting average. While he will undoubtedly cool off at some point (were he to keep this pace up over a 162 game stretch, he would hit 99 home runs and drive in 216 runs which, for lack of a better term, is just ridiculous), one thing that will keep Hoskins from fizzling out is his plate discipline. Through 18 games, the rookie sports a 13-11 K-to-BB ratio; essentially, he is drawing a walk for every time he strikes out. That plate discipline pushes me towards believing that Hoskins has true staying power in the MLB. 

We've seen extraordinary stretches in the past from players who have gone on to fade into obscurity. In 2006, a first baseman for the Detroit Tigers named Chris Shelton blasted 10 home runs in the month of April. Combined with a .326 batting average and 20 RBI, it seemed that the Tigers had a star of their own in the making. However, the first baseman also had 27 strikeouts vs. just 9 walks in that month and he went on to hit six home runs over the rest of the season. Two years later, Shelton was out of the majors and he retired from professional baseball in 2010. Pitchers will make adjustments to hitter success and, unless the batter can make adjustments as well, the pitchers will eventually regain the upper hand. This is one of the reasons that I foresee Hoskins having continued success in the majors. Hoskins is averaging over 4.5 pitches seen per at-bat. Naturally, as a hitter, the more pitches you see, the more likely you are to time up the pitcher and find a pitch to hit. This mentality will serve Hoskins well moving forward and will help him endure any typical struggles that young players are bound to face in the majors.

Rhys Hoskins has given the Phillies a star to market and the fans an idol to adore.

Hoskins' achievements have injected some much needed life into a Philadelphia ball club that has been in desperate need of a franchise player. Since the coming and going of the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard, Philadelphia baseball has been devoid of a true star to market to fans. Whether it be driving the ball out of the park or turning triple plays from the outfield, Hoskins has given fans a reason to pay closer attention to the game and perhaps hold off on their bathroom break or trip to the concession stand. Whenever he comes up to the plate, there really is no telling what might happen. Only time will tell what Rhys Hoskins' long term impact will be on the game of baseball. However, in the short term, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the show.

All images are courtesy of MLB.com.