For a time during the 2019 season, Rhys Hoskins was excellent. Then, well, he wasnt.

Over 89 first half games a season ago, Hoskins slugged 20 homers to go with an impressive .401 on-base percentage and .931 OPS.

And then all hell broke loose.

Over 71 second half games, Hoskins added only nine more homers while posting an uncharacteristic .318 on-base percentage and a brutal .679 OPS. If batting average matters to you, and in this case I believe it should, Hoskins hit a National League-worst .180 during that same stretch.

Unsurprisingly, the Phillies, too, faltered in the second half. In attempt to spark both the first baseman and the team, hitting coach John Mallee was replaced with Charlie Manuel. But not even that change could stop the synchronized collapses of team and player.

Over the winter, Hoskins began implementing a new setup in which he lowered his hands with a downward-pointed elbow. He also opened up his base a bit and kept his lead arm rested along his front side. A look at the reworked setup:

Certainly, the new setup was quite a deviation from his previous one. In particular, note the differences in the first frame here:

Hoskins talked about the adjustments back in February at the start of spring training:

In the above video, he discusses wanting to be more consistent and repeatable with his mechanics. Unfortunately, live reps (paired with cage and tee work) are required to obtain consistency with a pretty dramatic change in setup. As it turns out, a pandemic doesnt help in that regard.

I was a bit surprised by the changes. Obviously, Hoskins experienced what, for him, had to be unprecedented struggles over the final two-plus months of 2019. Still, I wondered how much of those struggles were more about a snowball effect of doubt, one that caused an erosion of confidence rather than an erosion of his hitting skillset.

I dont think its fair to call his change in approach a panic move because a great deal of thought and reason when into the new setup, but I did wonder about the necessity of such alterations.

For what its worth, Hoskins struggled in limited Grapefruit League action. From my perspective, Hoskins also struggled in the early days of the teams summer camp. He was under a lot of pitches and wasnt consistently squaring balls up. More importantly, he didnt strike me as a player particularly comfortable or confident.

In recent days, hes made some noticeable adjustments with his hand placement. Hoskins talked about the recent swing tinkering with reporters on Tuesday afternoon.

You know, obviously, it was well documented over the offseason. I experimented with some changes in my setup, Hoskins said. Thought it was going well in the spring, but then, obviously, the pandemic hit, and I was unable to get some live reps. Since weve gotten back, its kind of turned more hybrid between those changes and what Ive done in the past.

Again, it has been an extremely limited sample of intrasquad and exhibition action, but Hoskins has looked better leading up to tonights intrasquad game. Apparently, he feels better, too.

Right now, Im feeling pretty good. Im feeling pretty comfortable with it. I feel strong in the box, I feel like Im seeing the ball pretty well, trying to swing at strikes and go from there.

One thing Hoskins has going for him as the 2020 season draws near is the presence of new hitting coach Joe Dillon.

While it is isnt fair to solely lay blame for Hoskins personal struggles (or the struggles of several young Phillies) in 2019 on the previous coaching staff, there does seem to be more confidence in the new regime across the board.

Hoskins, for one, is a believer in Dillon.

I think hes going to have a pretty tremendous impact, honestly. I think a lot of the work that he likes to do and suggests that we do are going to make the game a lot simpler, he said. He really tries to make it hard on us in the cage and in practice, so that when we get in a tight situation in a game against a guy that has 98 and with sink, well have seen something pretty similar to that already in the cage and feel a lot more comfortable when we step in the box.

As we saw throughout the Phillies underwhelming second half a season ago, theyneed Hoskins to be productive.

From this perspective, he needs to be confident in his approach and setup in order for this to happen.

An optimist will tell you these latest changes are a sign that hes getting closer in that regard.

A pessimist will tell you the changes signal self-doubt ahead of a 60-game season in which theres no time to wasteespecially in light of this:

So, whos right?

Ultimately, given his past production and recent comments, Im willing to take a more positive outlook. But were soon going to find out.

See the rest here:

The Evolution of Rhys Hoskins Swing Leads To Hybrid Setup - Crossing Broad