Phillies Opposition Roadblock: Eric Hosmer
The Philadelphia Phillies open a three-game weekend series with the defending world champion Royals, and their talented 1st baseman is the key roadblock to success.
The Phillies have not been what most would consider to be the most consistent team in baseball this season. The start was promising, and the month of June was embarrassing for the most part.
However, the Phils are coming off a west coast swing that could have been disastrous, but ended up being extremely encouraging.
The team went into San Francisco and beat the NL West’s best team in one of three. Not only did they win that one game, but they beat one of baseball’s best pitchers, Madison Bumgarner. They had the Giants on the ropes in both of the other weekend games, losing by a run both times, but never really giving us the feel they were out of those games.
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Then, the Phils traveled to the snakepit in Arizona to play a team which had swept them away the previous weekend in Philly. The Phillies returned the favor by sweeping the Diamondbacks the only way they know how: winning close. Though they won the first game handily in an 8-0 blowout, the Phillies needed one run wins the next two days, with both as come from behind wins.
The promising piece was traveling out west, facing solid pitching in San Francisco followed by a team that dominated them the weekend before, and putting up 34 runs over six games. I had no idea the Phillies had 34 runs in them, period. They did it over six games, and I was ready to put on a firework show that Jason Pierre-Paul would envy.
After the 4-2 road trip, the Phillies return home and invite the defending champion Kansas City Royals into Citizens Bank Park.
However, this is not the Royals championship team that dominated last October. They are currently six games out of first place in the AL Central behind a red-hot Cleveland Indians team.
The champs are limping through a handful of difficult injuries, including lineup centerpieces Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain.
Alex Gordon, a sought after free agent this past offseason, is struggling to find any success at the plate this season (.211/.309/.337). Kendrys Morales and Salvador Perez continue to make their solid contributions, but the team is orbiting around the star that is Eric Hosmer.
In his last seven games, Hosmer boasts a 9-29 mark, walking four times and knocking in four runs. He also leads the defending champions in every major offensive category. He has basically carried the offense throughout the season, and will need to continue without Moustakas and Cain. Hosmer is currently slashing .305/.367/.490 with 12 homers and 48 RBI, and is the team leader in both hits (91) and runs (43).
The 1st baseman was taken 3rd overall by the Royals in the 2008 amateur draft, and signed moments before the deadline. Throughout his minor league career, Hosmer put up gaudy numbers.
Right before being called up to the big leagues, the future All-Star was hitting .439 and finding a way on base at a .525 clip. There was a ton of hype surrounding him when he arrived in May of 2011, and he delivered .293/.334/.465 with 19 home runs and 78 RBI.
Hosmer hit a sophomore snag, producing only a .232/.304/.359 slash line. His second season was undoubtedly his worst professional season. However, there is no doubt that he has bounced back and been one of the most consistent ball players in the game. He has only struck out 100 times twice, and has only missed an .800 OPS one time in his five full seasons.
The 26-year old has another aspect to his game that needs to be highlighted. Hosmer has won three consecutive Gold Glove Awards, never fielding below a .990% (.997 in 2015).
My friends, he had four errors in over 1200 chances last season. FOUR. He had fewer errors in an entire baseball season than fingers on my hands. As a matter of fact, he has never had more than ten errors in his professional career. I feel like Ryan Howard averaged four a week at some points.
Hosmer hits well no matter what type of pitcher he may see. While his average is low versus lefties, I have to defend him considering the lower amount of at-bats he has received against lefties (88 ABs: .261/.298/.489 with five homers and 19 RBI, but only five walks to 19 strikeouts).
Against right handers he is bashing a .324/.394/.490 with seven home runs, 29 RBI, and 24 walks to 47 K’s. Hosmer is actually on pace to reach his norm in walks and strikeouts, so consider these numbers as consistent as the rest.
Hosmer has the ability to spread the ball all over the field. He can let the ball get deeper and drive the ball to left field. He can turn on a pitch toward the inner half and hit it hard into right field.
In order to get him out, a pitcher has to be smart with pitch selection. He hits extremely well when he is ahead in the count, so it is crucial to get ahead of him early and often.
Pitchers have found the most luck spotting their fastballs on the outer half to Hosmer because he can turn on that pitch in on his hands. The problem is that breaking balls down and on the outer half of the plate are pitches he tends to drive well.
Hosmer is a difficult out, and there is no argument simply because he is able to hit any pitch in any count. In order to get him out, the Phillies may be most successful by pitching him backwards and mixing up their pitch selections. It will be important to pitch him one way in one type of at bat and a completely different approach to him in a second at bat.
It seems that in order to beat him, you have to try to confuse him. Otherwise, it could be a long weekend against the defending World Champions.
Phillies Opposition Roadblock Grades – Arizona Series
Mike’s Choice: Jake Lamb
Lamb’s Stats: 4-11, a BB, three runs, four RBI, two HRs, and a triple in three games played.
Mike’s Grade: Lamb performed. Simple as that. He had big hits in both the second and third games of this series. Three extra base hits in 11 at bats is impressive. My Grade: B+
Phillies Grade: They did a decent job. Obviously, they did not let him beat them, but that was more or less the offense coming to the rescue. He left a few guys in scoring position with two outs, but he also hit a few home runs in big spots. In the end, the sweep trumps the player. Grade: A-