Rhys Hoskins Bio
Rhys Dean Hoskins is an American professional baseball first baseman who is currently a free agent. Born on March 17, 1993, in Sacramento, California, Hoskins made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 and became a key player during his time there, notably helping the team reach the World Series in 2022. After suffering a torn ACL in 2023, he signed with the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2024 season. In his career, Hoskins has set multiple records for rookie production and has been recognized for his offensive capabilities.
Early Life and Background
Rhys Dean Hoskins was born on March 17, 1993, in Sacramento, California, to parents Paul and Cathy Hoskins, both of whom worked as lawyers. When Hoskins was two years old, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She ultimately died of the disease in 2009, shortly before Hoskins’ sixteenth birthday. After her passing, Hoskins grew closer to his younger sister, Meloria. A lifelong fan of the San Francisco Giants, he modeled his game first after J. T. Snow and later after Paul Goldschmidt.
Hoskins became a multi-sport athlete at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California, where he played baseball, basketball, and football while maintaining a 4.0 grade-point average. His parents encouraged him to pursue a variety of activities rather than focus on a single sport. One of his Jesuit teammates was Zach Green, a shortstop who was highly regarded in the 2012 MLB Draft. Green typically batted third in the lineup, with Hoskins following as the cleanup hitter.
Hoskins graduated from Jesuit High School in 2011, posting a career .421 batting average, 28 runs batted in (RBIs), and a .544 on-base percentage. He chose to pursue college baseball so that he could develop the mental side of the game, and the only school that offered him a scholarship was California State University, Sacramento, where he played for the Sacramento State Hornets.
Path to Major League Baseball
As a freshman at Sacramento State, Hoskins batted .353 with a .567 slugging percentage, 10 home runs, and 53 RBIs, earning Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors. In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star. As a junior, he hit 12 home runs with 53 RBIs and a .573 slugging percentage, batting .319, and was named WAC Player of the Year.
The Philadelphia Phillies selected Hoskins in the fifth round, 142nd overall, of the 2014 MLB draft, and he signed with the club for a $349,700 signing bonus. He made his professional debut that year with the Low-A Williamsport Crosscutters, then developed his signature left leg kick batting stance at the Florida Instructional League. Hoskins climbed steadily through the Phillies system, including stops at Single-A Lakewood, High-A Clearwater, Double-A Reading, and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
At Lehigh Valley in 2017, Hoskins led the International League in RBI (91), OPS (.966), on-base percentage (.385), and slugging percentage (.581), and was named the league’s MVP and Rookie of the Year. He was called up to the Phillies on August 10, 2017, beginning what would become a memorable MLB career.
Rhys Hoskins Career
Early Career (2014-2016)
Hoskins began his professional career in 2014 with the Low-A Williamsport Crosscutters, batting .237 with nine home runs in 70 games. The following year, he earned Phillies Minor League Player of the Month honors in May 2015 with Lakewood and was promoted midseason to High-A Clearwater, finishing 2015 with a .319 average, 17 home runs, and 90 RBIs across both levels. He then played winter ball for the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League.
In 2016, Hoskins and teammate Dylan Cozens powered the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils lineup, becoming the first Reading teammates to each hit 30 or more home runs in a single season. Hoskins batted .281 with 38 home runs and 116 RBI, earning Eastern League Rookie of the Year honors and the Paul Owens Award as one of the top players in the Phillies farm system.
Philadelphia Phillies Breakthrough (2017-2022)
Hoskins debuted with the Phillies on August 10, 2017, and quickly began rewriting the record books. On August 14, he became the first Phillies player to hit his first two major league home runs in the same game since Scott Rolen in 1996. He went on to become the fastest player in recorded MLB history to reach 10 career home runs (in 17 games) and 12 home runs (in 24 games), while also recording 25 RBIs in his 19th career game.
Hoskins finished 2017 with a .259/.396/.618 slash line, 18 home runs, and 48 RBIs, placing fourth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. In 2018, he became the fastest Phillie to reach 30 career home runs and 100 career RBIs, while also setting a franchise record for reaching 100 walks in 151 games. He participated in the 2018 MLB Home Run Derby, becoming the first player in MLB history to hit 20 home runs in a single round.
From 2019 through 2022, Hoskins served as Philadelphia’s everyday first baseman, posting a .226/.364/.454 line with 29 home runs in 2019 and a .245/.384/.503 mark in the shortened 2020 season. In 2021, he led the Phillies with 27 home runs and 71 RBIs before an abdominal tear ended his year. In 2022, he batted .246/.332/.462 with 30 home runs and 79 RBIs, helping the Phillies reach the World Series, where they fell to the Houston Astros in six games.
Milwaukee Brewers Era (2024-2025)
On January 26, 2024, Hoskins signed a two-year, $34 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, including a player opt-out after 2024 and a mutual option after 2025. On June 3, 2024, he received a standing ovation in his first plate appearance back in Philadelphia since the 2022 World Series, hitting a home run in that game.
Hoskins opened 2025 slowly before going on a multi-dozen game hot streak near the end of May, producing a .300/.402/.500 slash line and crediting a mechanical change to stride forward earlier before swinging. His June was less successful, however, and a Grade 2 thumb sprain in July sent him to the 15-day injured list for an estimated four to eight weeks. He finished the regular season with 90 appearances, slashing .237/.332/.416 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs.
Driving Style and Strengths
Hoskins is known for his patient approach at the plate, drawing walks at an elite rate while generating strong fly-ball power. His signature left leg kick and willingness to work deep counts have made him a dangerous middle-of-the-order bat. He has shown the ability to make mechanical adjustments, as evidenced by his late-May 2025 surge following a timing tweak in his swing.
Notable Events and Milestones
Hoskins owns a series of MLB rookie records, including fastest to 10 and 12 career home runs, and he became the seventh-fastest player in major league history to reach 50 career home runs in 2018. He also represented MLB in the 2018 MLB Japan All-Star Series and was a key contributor to the Phillies’ run to the 2022 World Series.
Rhys Hoskins Career Wins
While statistics like wins and poles are more commonly tracked in motorsports, the closest analog for a hitter is home runs as scoring milestones. Rhys Dean Hoskins has accumulated well over 100 career home runs across his MLB seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, with signature power displays during his 2017 rookie debut and his 2018 breakout.
Philadelphia Phillies Highlights
With the Phillies from 2017 through 2022, Hoskins hit 18 home runs in his debut season, 34 in 2018, 29 in 2019, 10 in the shortened 2020 campaign, 27 in 2021, and 30 in 2022. His first MLB home run came on August 14, 2017, against the San Diego Padres, when he hit his first two career homers in the same game. He reached his 50th career home run in just 192 games, the seventh-fastest in MLB history.
Other Wins and Performances
Hoskins earned several minor league honors, including Eastern League Rookie of the Year in 2016, International League MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2017, and the Paul Owens Award. He was also a Cape Cod Baseball League all-star in 2013 and a Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in his junior college season.
Rhys Hoskins Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Rhys Dean Hoskins was raised in Sacramento, California, by his parents Paul and Cathy Hoskins, both of whom were lawyers. After his mother Cathy’s death from breast cancer in 2009, Hoskins grew especially close to his younger sister, Meloria. While the family is not associated with a racing lineage, Hoskins’ upbringing emphasized academic achievement, multi-sport participation, and a competitive spirit shaped by his parents’ guidance.
Personal Life
Hoskins married his longtime girlfriend, Jayme Bermudez, on November 9, 2019, with Phillies teammate Scott Kingery serving as one of the groomsmen. The couple raised over $1 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association during his time in Philadelphia, reflecting Hoskins’ commitment to charitable causes off the field.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season proved to be a turbulent one for Rhys Dean Hoskins and the Milwaukee Brewers. After a slow start, Hoskins caught fire in late May, posting a rare .300/.402/.500 slash line that highlighted his offensive ceiling when his timing clicked. He credited the surge to a mechanical adjustment in which he strode forward earlier in his swing, allowing him to get to pitches more consistently.
However, momentum stalled in June, and a Grade 2 thumb sprain suffered while tagging out Eric Wagaman in July landed Hoskins on the 15-day injured list, with Andrew Vaughn called up in his place. The estimated four-to-eight-week recovery kept him out for a meaningful stretch and limited him to 90 total appearances on the year, finishing with a .237/.332/.416 line, 12 home runs, and 43 RBIs.
On November 4, 2025, the Brewers declined their side of the mutual option, making Hoskins a free agent. As he evaluates his next opportunity, Hoskins will look to build on the late-May surge and put the thumb injury behind him, hoping to deliver another productive season at the plate in 2026 and beyond.