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Can Rhys Hoskins be Rookie of the Year runner-up?

On Episode 150 of The Felske Files, hosts John Stolnis and Justin Klugh discuss whether Hoskins has enough game action to warrant finishing 2nd in the ROY vote to Cody Bellinger.

By John Stolnis and Justin Klugh

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MLB: Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

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We all know that Rhys Hoskins has gotten off to a tremendous start to his Major League career. The documentation of this is long and distinguished. And while there is no way anyone is going to take the National League Rookie of the Year crown away from the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger (who is in town this week for a four-game series with the Phils), it’s fair to wonder how close Hoskins can get to nabbing MLB’s first-year player award.

Can he finish in the top-three? Can he be runner-up?

It seems ridiculous to think that a player who has amassed just 162 plate appearances could even be considered. But when that player has a slash line of .290/.420/.733 and has reached 18 home runs faster than any player in baseball history, the mind begins to wonder.

After all, if you take a look at the NL Rookie leaderboard in terms of fWAR, it’s not far-fetched at all.

Bellinger leads all NL rookies in fWAR (4.0), with the Cardinals’ Paul Dejong (2.4) second and Hoskins (2.2) third. After that, the Padres’ Manuel Margot and the Dodger’s Austin Barnes are tied for fourth (2.1), and the Brewers’ Manny Pina is sixth (2.0).

After that all other rookies are below 2.0 WAR, including Cubs bomber Ian Happ, whose .507 slugging percentage ranks 6th among NL rookies. The Pirates’ Josh Bell is second among NL rookies in home runs (24), but his .471 slugging percentage and 0.7 fWAR leave a bit more to be desired.

Voters will certainly argue that a player who will have played less than two months of the season shouldn’t be considered for an end-of-season award. However, those that would argue that would be flying in the face of what happened last year, when Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez finished runner-up to Michael Fulmer for the AL Rookie of the Year award. Sanchez played in just 53 games last season.

On Episode 150 of The Felske Files, hosts John Stolnis and Justin Klugh discuss this topic in depth...

Also discussed on this episode...

  • The Phillies series opening win against Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers may have been the most entertaining and exciting game of the season.
  • Who will be the better player long-term, and who would you rather have right now... Aaron Judge or Rhys Hoskins?
  • It appears as though Pete Macknin will be back as the team’s manager in 2017... is that the best move for the team?
  • Larry Andersen is going to be scaling back his time in the broadcast booth in a major way... what does this mean for the Phils’ radio broadcasts?
  • ADVERTISE WITH THE FELSKE FILES! Email John Stolnis at jstolnis@gmail.com for rates. I have rates to match every budget!
  • PLEASE VISIT THE FELSKE FILES TEEPUBLIC.COM STORE, the BEST collection of Phillies T-shirts anywhere on the interworld! Click right here for phenomenal T-shirts and other apparel!

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