Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Rhys Hoskins suffered a fractured jaw against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Hoskins will likely be placed on the 10-day disabled list.
The 25-year old was reportedly on his way back to Philadelphia on Wednesday night to be seen by an oral surgeon (h/t CSN Philly).
With Hoskins potentially out for a long period of time, the Phillies could be filling his roster spot with another power-hitting outfielder. According to Tom Housenick of the Morning Call, Dylan Cozens was seen packing up his bats on Wednesday and receiving congratulations from teammates.
The Phillies have not made the move official yet, but it seems like Cozens is the next Lehigh Valley IronPigs player to don the red and white pinstripes.
This season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Cozens is batting. 226 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI in 50 games. While the home run numbers are good, Cozens’ Achilles heel in his young baseball career has been strikeouts.
In 168 at-bats this season, he has struck out a disappointing 75 times. In his previous two seasons at Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Double-A Reading, Cozens racked up a combined 380 strikeouts.
Nevertheless, when Cozens is locked in, he can be a fun player to watch. In 2016, he had his best season in the minors, playing with Rhys Hoskins at Double-A Reading. The power-hitting duo put on a show and smashed numerous records once held by former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard.
During that season alone, Cozens had a triple slash line of .276/.350/.591 to go along with 40 home runs and 125 RBI. The Phillies are hoping that 24-year old slugger can bring some offensive firepower to a lineup without Hoskins.
