Rhys Hoskins: Where’ll he finish in Rookie of the Year voting
Could Rhys Hoskins take home one of baseball’s most prestigious awards?
Rhys Hoskins is continuing to take Philadelphia by storm, hitting his 17th home run in his 32nd major league game.
It’s been an incredible run for the rookie who arguably sat in the minor leagues too long. Will that time spent in Lehigh Valley ultimately curse Hoskins’ chances of winning the rookie of the year in 2017?
The numbers are certainly there given the limited at bats Hoskins has, especially the OPS over 1.000 and the near mirror K/BB ratios.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick addressed the rookie of the year possibility for Hoskins Wednesday night.
Willie McCovey won the NL ROY with 192 AB's in 1959. Hoskins has 115 at-bats. He's had an incredible month, but Cody Bellinger is the guy. https://t.co/8gOzugWTko
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) September 14, 2017
FYI: Willie McCovey hit 13 HRs and slugged .656 in 192 at-bats to win ROY.#Phillies Rhys Hoskins has 17 HRs and a .784 SLG in 116 ABs.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) September 14, 2017
Bellinger has certainly set the standard for rookie of the year voting among National League hitters. In 115 games his 36 home runs lead the first-place Dodgers heading into the playoffs.
It’s certainly not armed robbery if Bellinger wins the award, for he’s incredibly deserving for his remarkable season. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if Hoskins gets enough votes to sit among the top three. It’ll be tough with St. Louis’ Paul DeJong, Chicago’s Ian Happ and Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell still holding rookie eligibility.
It’s unlikely a pitcher comes into the conversation this season with no one holding double-digit wins and an ERA lower than 4.00 among both American and National League rookies.
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Unless Hoskins somehow doubles his home run numbers, which is already crazy to imagine, in the final 16 games of the season his chances of beating out Bellinger are slim to none.
So yes, I’m telling you there’s a chance.