Former Phillies Fan Favorite Slugger is Early MVP of Brewers

Philadelphia Phillies fans can't help but be happy about how well a former favorite is performing.

Jun 5, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins (12) acknowledges the crowd against the Philadelphia Phillies in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a few spots in their lineup providing underwhelming production at the plate.

Only five out of 15 players who have made plate appearances for the team in 2025 have an OPS+ of at least 100, which is the league average.  That could lead to some changes down the road, especially in the outfield.

But, that hasn’t torpedoed the team’s overall production too much since some of them are close to league average.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto, second baseman Bryson Stott, third baseman Alec Bohm, right fielder Nick Castellanos and utility man Weston Wilson all have OPS+ numbers of at least 90. Solid, plus there a few standout performers buoying the overall numbers.

Two of those standouts are first baseman Bryce Harper and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, who are both producing at impressive clips.

Their presence in the lineup is part of the reason why the team opted to move on from Rhys Hoskins a few years ago.

Rhys Hoskins Has Re-Found His Phillies Form With Brewers

The right-handed slugger signed a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers as a free agent ahead of the 2024 season, following a washout 2023 campaign that he spent sidelined for the duration of because of injury.

His first season with the Brewers wasn’t great, recording a -0.2 WAR across 131 games and 517 plate appearances.

Knocking off the rust after suffering a torn ACL and getting back into the swing of things takes some time.

Another year removed from the injury, Hoskins is looking like his normal self at the plate, producing at an impressive clip for Milwaukee and being named their early MVP by Johnny Flores Jr. of The Athletic (subscription required).

“At 32 years old, Hoskins is in line for his best season yet…There’s a good chance he makes the NL All-Star team for the first time in his career. Chalk it up to an offseason mechanical change or another year removed from a torn ACL, but Hoskins has been everything an offensively starved Brewers team could need and then some,” Flores wrote.

Through 52 games and 199 plate appearances, Hoskins has a .287/.387/.467 slash line with seven home runs, nine doubles and 29 RBI. He has a 139 OPS+ and has already produced 1.1 fWAR.

Given how well their team is performing, Phillies fans cannot help by be happy for one of their former favorites now thriving with another club and fully healthy for the first time in a few years.