Phillies: Rhys Hoskins still struggling after switch back to first base
By John Town
Even after the Phillies moved Rhys Hoskins back to his natural position of first base, he is still unable to play even average defense.
The Phillies thought they could get away with Rhys Hoskins as the starting left fielder in 2018 after signing Carlos Santana. Any thought that would succeed quickly vanished as Hoskins turned in one of the worst defensive seasons for an outfielder since the turn of the century.
In 135 games in left field last year, Hoskins committed six errors, most among left fielders and fourth-most among outfielders in the National League. His -3.6 defensive wins above replacement were the lowest total in all of MLB last year.
Things only got worse looking at Hoskins’ -24 defensive runs saved. It was the fourth-worst total among outfielders last season and tied for 10th-worst since the metric was introduced in 2003 by Baseball Info Solutions.
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It became clear before the season ended that Hoskins could not continue playing in left field. This led to Carlos Santana being traded away during the offseason, clearing the position for Hoskins this year.
The hope coming into the year was that Hoskins would play at least serviceable defense at first base. If he did, it would remove that horrendous defensive wins above replacement total and makes his overall total one of the All-Star caliber player he is.
Those hopes have not come to fruition as Hoskins is still struggling defensively. He leads all major-league basemen in errors with four and is tied for fourth in the National League among all positions. His .985 fielding percentage is unsurprisingly second-worst among qualified first basemen.
While advanced defensive metrics are more reliable over long periods (a season or more), they are still unflattering of Hoskins even in this short window. He has -3 defensive runs saved, tied for second-worst among first baseman. His -6.2 ultimate zone rating per 150 games is also second-worst.
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Hoskins’ numbers at first base this year are a significant deviation from the previous two years. In 2017, he had the same fielding percentage but zero defensive runs saved and a 4.8 UZR/150 in 203.1 innings. In 106.2 innings last year, he had -2 defensive runs saved and a 6.2 UZR/150. Hoskins was by no means a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman, but he wasn’t this bad.
Hoskins is not the only Phillie struggling defensively as the team ranks 18th in fielding percentage, 26th in defensive runs saved, and 22nd in ultimate zone rating. His defensive issues are less critical since he isn’t playing a premier position, but they still have an impact.
While Hoskins has 1.5 offensive wins above replacement this year (seventh-most among NL hitters), he also has -0.5 defensive wins above replacement, ranking eighth-worst in the NL. He still ranks 20th in overall wins above replacement, but he could crack into the top ten if his defense wasn’t weighing him down.
Rhys Hoskins on pace to hit a lot of HRs. dark. Next
There’s still enough of the season ahead for Hoskins to get his defense back to replacement-level or even average. However, if his first month and a half has shown us anything, he still has work to do.