Rhys Hoskins is in the Phillies' lineup, batting seventh and playing left field in his MLB debut tonight.
Thursday's promotion was a long time coming and would have occurred sooner if the Phillies were able to trade Tommy Joseph. Hoskins has one of the highest offensive ceilings of anyone in the Phillies' organization and his bat looks major-league-ready. At Triple A this season, he hit .284/.385/.581 with 29 homers, 91 RBIs, a 13.5 percent walk rate and 15.8 percent strikeout rate.
It's been quite a while since the Phillies had a player in the middle of their lineup with both the ability to hit a longball and take a walk. You have to go all the way back to 2010 (see game notes).
We'll see how Hoskins adjust to left field, a position he hadn't played since college before this week. He will still probably be a first baseman in the long run once the Phillies figure out what to do with Joseph.
Here's the Phillies' lineup against Mets ace Jacob deGrom:
1. Cesar Hernandez, 2B
2. Freddy Galvis, SS
3. Odubel Herrera, CF
4. Maikel Franco, 3B
5. Nick Williams, RF
6. Tommy Joseph, 1B
7. Rhys Hoskins, LF
8. Cameron Rupp, C
9. Vince Velasquez, P
