Fans of Rhys Hoskins, I would love to see him make the Cleveland Guardians roster out of Spring Training. It’s okay if he doesn’t though because 1) he could still be called up during the season, and 2) he might be a member of the Columbus Clippers. The Clippers are the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians and play in the International League, the same league as the Phillies top farm team, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

When Hoskins signed with Cleveland the other day a lot of Hoskins and IronPigs fans likely pulled out their handy-dandy pocket schedules and looked to see when Columbus comes into town this season. Turns out that it’s July 7-12. Long time fans of the IronPigs usually do look to see when the Clips are scheduled because it’s also an opportunity to see one of the most beloved former IronPigs of all-time, Andy Tracy. Like Hoskins, Tracy was primarily a first baseman and is now the manager of the Columbus Clippers.

Hoskins and Tracy both have a love for the game and it’s easy to see how they would fit well as a manager and a player. Tracy played with the inaugural IronPigs team in 2008 and was immediately a clubhouse leader. The left-handed hitter played three seasons in Lehigh Valley and played in 378 games and hit 69 home runs in an IronPigs uniform. Tracy is the answer to a number of IronPigs trivia questions since he was the first IronPigs player to hit a home run and was also the first to score a run and to drive in a run. He was also the front end of the first back-to-back home runs by IronPigs players when he and Brennan King accomplished the feat in June of 2008 at Indianapolis. Tracy still ranks as the IronPigs all-time home run leader (69) and all-time RBI leader (261).

Hoskins spent just one season at Lehigh Valley and it was a memorable one. In 2017, Hoskins played 115 games and hit 29 home runs, drove in 91 runs and scored 78 while producing a slash line of: .284/.385/.581/.966. His season stats were good enough for him to be voted the International League’s MVP and Rookie of the Year. In those days, the big debate was who was going to be the best player in the majors, Hoskins or Dylan Cozens. The debate went back and forth, but now, hindsight shows it was clearly Rhys Hoskins. Cozens spent two-plus seasons at Lehigh Valley and was a prolific home run hitter with 54 home runs, but it was either a power show or a whiff show. In the same season that Hoskins won the league’s MVP and ROY honors, Cozens led the league in strikeouts with 194 in 476 at-bats, a horrific 40.8-percent strikeout rate.

By the way, if you’re banking on Hoskins making the Guardians, they visit Philadelphia May 22, 23, and 24. The Phillies do not go to Cleveland this season.

A Free Agency Nosedive

Rhys Hoskins hoped for a final substantial payday as a major leaguer, but it didn’t come together for him. Whether Bryce Harper wanted him back in Philly is a hot debate, but honestly, it’s not worth getting into; it simply was not going to happen. A potential Harper endorsement aside, Hoskins figured to be getting more money than the one-year split major/minor league deal he signed with the Guardians for $1.5-million plus incentives.

Phillies fans will remember that Hoskins final season in Philly was killed by a torn left ACL. The Phillies had Harper wanting to make the move to first base from right field, so the Phillies didn’t pursue Hoskins and he signed a two-year deal with the Brewers. In the first year of the deal he suffered a hamstring strain that cost him time and last season missed considerable time because of a  left thumb sprain, which included ligament/UCL damage and a bone bruise, causing him to miss nearly two months.

Those injuries have given Hoskins the dreaded injury prone label, which helped to push his market value down. When you add in the stats from the past three seasons, Hoskins has played in just 221 games with 38 home runs and 128 RBI. His slash line is not what it was when he was in Philadelphia. Over three seasons, Hoskins has a slash line of: .223/.314/.418/.732, which doesn’t scream to teams to give this guy a big money contract.