Three Up, Three Down: Hoskins Brings The Hammer

Each week, BA will take a look at the trends in major league baseball.

THREE 👍

Rhys Hoskins | 1B/LF | Phillies

In a year where rookie sluggers have made an immediate, indelible impact on their teams (see: Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger), Hoskins has taken things to another level. The 24-year-old masher has 11 home runs in his first 18 games, the fewest games any player has ever hit 11 home runs in MLB history. And it’s been more than just a power surge. Hoskins is hitting .309 with a .413 on-base percentage, with nearly as many walks (11) as strikeouts (13). As Michael Baumann of The Ringer pointed out, Hoskins is making contact on 86.6 percent of his swings, putting him in the same range as Joey Votto and Joe Mauer. No player—not Barry Bonds, not Babe Ruth, not Giancarlo Stanton—has ever had the type of start to his career as Hoskins offensively. To top it all off, he even started a triple play with a sliding catch in left field on Sunday.

Giancarlo Stanton | OF | Marlins

Hoskins might be the new slugger on the block, and Judge challenged early in the season, but Stanton remains the game’s pre-eminent slugger. The 27-year-old became the first National League player to hit 50 home runs in a season since Prince Fielder in 2007, and he’s done it with a remarkable recent stretch. Stanton has hit 29 home runs in his past 46 games, at a rate of one homer every six at-bats. He is on pace to become just the sixth player in history to hit 60 home runs in a season and the first since Sammy Sosa hit 64 and Barry Bonds his 73 in 2001. Most important, Stanton’s dominance has elevated his team. The Marlins are 29-18 since he began this stretch on July 5, the fourth-best record in the NL in that time behind only the Dodgers, Nationals and Cubs. With it, the Marlins have rallied from a below-.500 season to just 4 1/2 games back of a wild-card spot.

Byron Buxton | OF | Twins

Buxton’s long-awaited offensive breakout is finally be happening. Buxton cratered to a .195/.272/.280 slash line on July 3, and since then has been an unstoppable offensive force. Buxton has hit .356/.391/.653 since July 4, a stretch he capped off with his first career three-home run game on Sunday. More than anything, Buxton has simply made the necessary adjustments to make more contact. He struck out in 31.2 percent of his plate appearances leading up to July 4, but since then has cut his strikeout rate to 23.7 percent.

THREE 👎

Ben Gamel | OF | Mariners

After a scorching start, the past few months have not been kind to Gamel. His .163 batting average this month is lowest in the majors, and is the latest chapter in a downward trend. Gamel hit .393 with a .949 OPS in June, hit .255 with a .675 OPS in July, and now is down to .163 with one home run and a .446 OPS in August. Sliders have given Gamel particular trouble, with the 25-year-old posting a .118 batting average against them with a 13-percent whiff rate on the year, according to Baseball Savant.

Mike Leake | RHP | Cardinals

Leake signed the fourth-largest contract in Cardinals franchise history two years. Now, he’s looking at possibly losing his rotation spot. Leake has gone 0-3, 8.88 in five starts this month, with 42 hits allowed in just 25.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .375 off of him, he has struck out just 16 batters, and even his most best recent outing included three home runs allowed in seven innings. Overall, Leake has seen his ERA rise from 2.97 to 4.21 in the past two months.

A.J. Pollock | OF | Diamondbacks

The D-backs have snapped a concerning skid by winning six of their past seven, but they are still waiting for their star outfielder to break out of his slump. Pollock has hit .170 with two home runs and five RBIs in 25 games this month. Overall his OPS has dropped nearly 100 points, from .855 to .760.