How Rhys Hoskins' impressive start stacks up against the rest of the National League

Not much is going right for the Milwaukee Brewers' offense right now, but one bright spot is the impressive bounce-back season that first baseman Rhys Hoskins is putting together. Another year removed from the ACL injury that he suffered back in spring training of 2023, Hoskins has carried the Brewers offense through the first month and a half of the 2025 season.

Hoskins elected to remain with the Brewers this past offseason, by exercising his $18 million player option, in hopes of raising his free agent stock before he hits the open market at season's end. So far, that decision is looking like a wise one for the eight-year veteran. He's raised his OPS .122 points from his 2024 mark, while his batting average currently sits at what would be a career high. Overall, he's slashing .286/.392/.451 through 42 games this season.

How's he doing it? After three seasons with an elevated strikeout rate and a low walk rate, Hoskins' first quarter of the 2025 season more closely resembles the player that he was early on in his career. His 22.2% strikeout rate is more than a 6% improvement from last year, while his walk rate has also improved from 10.3% in 2024 to 13.9% so far this season, as detailed on FanGraphs. His chase rate, which was really good at the beginning of his career, is back to an impressive 19.3%, which ranks in the 92nd percentile in all of MLB, according to Baseball Savant.

Hoskins is also pulling the ball at the highest clip of his career, but he's doing so with really strong contact. He ranks in the 99th percentile in launch angle sweet spot percentage (LA sweet-spot%) at 46.5%. This means that nearly half of Hoskins' batted balls leave his bat at a launch angle between 8 and 32 degrees, which is considered the "sweet spot."

So how does this impressive start stack up against the rest of the NL?

Rhys Hoskins' .843 OPS ranks 3rd among NL first basemen, 17th among qualified hitters in the NL

Believe it or not, Hoskins has never made an All-Star Game. In fact, he really hasn't ever been close. In general, Hoskins has been a stronger second-half player than he is before the All-Star Break, but his best first half came back in 2019, his second full season in MLB. However, despite him posting a .931 OPS with 20 HR in the first half of 2019, Hoskins wasn't even a finalist for the mid-season All-Star Game.

This year, Hoskins' hot start, should it continue through the next month, could have him at least in the All-Star Game conversation, but stiff competition in the rest of the National League will be tough to overcome. If Hoskins does want to make his first All-Star Game, he will have to be at least a top-three first baseman in the NL by the second week of July, when the game is set to take place. Here's how he currently ranks among NL first basemen in OPS on Saturday morning:

1. Freddie Freeman - Los Angeles Dodgers - 1.098 OPS

2. Pete Alonso - New York Mets - .976 OPS

3. Rhys Hoskins - Milwaukee Brewers - .843 OPS

4. Michael Busch - Chicago Cubs - .831 OPS

5. Josh Naylor - Arizona Diamondbacks - .828 OPS

While the All-Star Game selections aren’t solely determined by OPS, the statistic provides the most comprehensive assessment of a player’s offensive performance. As of right now, Hoskins looks well-positioned to at least compete for an All-Star selection, but there are a few other NL first basemen currently underperforming who are expected to be in the mix as well. Most notably are Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper, who has eight career All-Star Game appearances, and Atlanta Braves first baseman Matt Olson, who has been to the All-Star Game twice in his career.

With Freeman and Alonso both ranked in the top five in all of baseball in OPS, and Harper and Olson expected to return to form in due time, the battle for the All-Star Game might be more competitive among NL first basemen than any other position.

With the All-Star Game still more than eight weeks away, it couldn't matter less right now for Hoskins and the rest of the Brewers' offense. Rather, what matters is that he continues to perform among an offense that is in desperate need of consistency. While the Brewers wait for things to click offensively, it should not be overlooked how important Hoskins has been in keeping this team afloat amid their early-season struggles.