Ronald Torreyes had the best year of his limited Major League career for the 2021 Phillies. Torreyes is a 29-year old journeyman, standing at only 5’8’’, 150lbs, but he plays with a great deal of technique and heart.

Torreyes was never a major league starter, but he got an opportunity to tally starting innings for the Phillies in the back half of the season. The Phillies everyday 3B to start the year, Alec Bohm, was slumping offensively and costing the team runs defensively. So, Phillies manager Joe Girardi elected to upgrade a well-known utility piece on his bench in the form of Torreyes to replace the void. Girardi knew Torreyes from his managing days in New York, where Ronald posted his best statistical year, 2017, hitting .292 with 3HR in limited, alternate time for the Yankees. Girardi had respect for Torreyes ability to fundamentally play the game. His play doesn’t pop like a superstar’s, but he makes the plays that need to be made and he hits the ball when he needs to. And when he got his number called for the Phillies this year in a larger role, he did just that.

Torreyes final 2021 stat line isn’t outstanding, as he batted .242 with 7HR, but Phillies fans don’t doubt the impact of his play for his worth. Torreyes plugged the defensive hole that Bohm left at 3B, committing no errors at the position. His limited pop in the form of seven homers may have been the most impactful aspect of his play, as two were go-ahead, three-run home runs for the Phillies. One he launched over the Green Monster at Fenway in July, and the other bounced out of the yard at home against the Pirates in September. Torreyes grew into a player that the Phillies depended upon by the end of the year. It wasn’t by matter of choice, as the Phillies would’ve preferred to keep Torreyes in his traditional role on the bench. But, with the poor performance of Bohm, Torreyes stepped up and got the job done for the Phillies in a needed area. The Venezualen utility man is only on the books for less than a million annually. If he continues to perform at this clip for a cheap price, it only makes sense for Girardi and the Phillies to tenure Torreyes next season as a bench piece.

Rhys Hoskins had an underrated year for the Phillies in the summer of 2021, as he carried the team offensively through much of the early season. Dating to his debut year in the league, 2017, Philadelphia fans came to expect a lot from Hoskins at the plate. Rhys set a record in his rookie season for the most home runs over the fewest amount of games for a player entering the league. Though the Phillies were in rough shape that year, Hoskins launched 18 homers over a 34-game stretch through the late summer to make a name for himself in this town. 

2018 and ‘19 brought a 34-homer season and a 29-homer season, respectively for the Phillies everyday first baseman. But toward the back end of 2019 and into the Covid year, 2020, Hoskins began seriously struggling at the plate. By the end of ‘19 his average had dropped to .226, though he hit with power early on, and carried a poor average into next season. There were concerns with Hoskins’ upward swing plane and the Phillies knew they needed him back on track at the plate to see any sort of offensive proficiency in ‘21. 

Hoskins put the doubters to rest in the early part of ‘21 as he was a crucial piece in the center of the lineup. Hoskins’ walk-rate dropped, paired with a cleaner swing, as he became more aggressive offensively and his numbers showed. He posted 27 HR and 71 RBI over 107 games (roughly ⅔ of the season). Hoskins entered an IL stint as the team got hot in August, and soon was out for the year to get repair surgery for an abdominal tear. It was a hefty blow to the Phillies lineup, as they fell from first place and weren’t able to recover offensively. Hoskins came up big this year several times, most notably, with his two-homer game in Colorado in April and near game-tying RBI ground-rule double against the Mets at home. Hoskins was never touted for his defensive play with several costly errors each season, but it was evident the Phillies needed his bat while they had it this year.Hoskins is 28 now and approaching a contract year, currently on the books for only $4.8M. Rhys has really grown into a leader for this clubhouse, but due to offensive inconsistency, defensive incompetence, and the money, it’s likely the Phillies and Hoskins will part ways.