The Brewers could receive a huge offensive boost in the coming days

After scoring 16 runs over their last two games, the Milwaukee Brewers' offense seemingly doesn't need a boost, but I don't think any team would turn one down at this point in the season. As the Dog Days of August drag on, adding an antsy slugger with fresh legs to their lineup is certainly a welcomed development for the Crew.

Despite their recent winning ways, the Brewers have been nursing several injuries over the last couple of months. From Jake Bauers, who just recently returned to the active roster, battling a shoulder impingement, to Jackson Chourio working through a hamstring strain, the Brewers have had to rely on their depth to remain at the top of the standings throughout August. However, now the team is poised to return another one of their key offensive pieces to their lineup in the coming days.

Rhys Hoskins began a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds last Tuesday, as he continues to recover from the sprained left thumb he suffered back in early July. In six games with the Sounds over the last eight days, Hoskins has put on a show. He's slashing .348/.400/.739 with two homers, three doubles, and three RBI, including three hits in the Sounds' loss to the Charlotte Knights last night.

That is about as good of a slash line that you could hope for from the veteran looking to make his way back to the major league roster.

Rhys Hoskins incredible in rehab assignment, set to return to Brewers' lineup soon

The hope is that Hoskins is back with the big league ball club shortly after the rosters expand on September 1. He's been playing full games in the field down in Nashville, and his production indicates that he's ready to return to the active roster. However, deciding when Hoskins will return is the easy part; finding ways to get him consistent at-bats after the emergence of Andrew Vaughn is more difficult.

In 16 games in July with the Brew Crew, Vaughn, who replaced Hoskins on the roster back on July 7, had a slash line of .365/.426/.731, which was good for an OPS of 1.157. In August so far, Vaughn is slashing .258/.340/.416, which is good for an OPS of .756. Vaughn's production has dipped quite a bit, as that was expected and was never going to be sustainable. Brewers fans knew that the high numbers that he posted in July were going to regress quite a bit, but his combination of power and on-base ability, even after his numbers have dropped, means he needs to be in the lineup every day.

But Hoskins was slashing .242/.340/.428 before his injury, and he carried the Brewers offense through the first two months of the season. In fact, when the calendar flipped to June, Hoskins was slashing .276/.374/.475, with nine homers to his name. Yes, Hoskins' production also dropped off a little bit before going on the injured list, but if he's the player that he was in April and May, he could offer a huge boost to the middle of the Brewers' lineup. Having Yelich, Vaughn, and Hoskins in their lineup should quiet some of the outside concerns claiming that the Brewers don't have enough power to win in the postseason.

Finding everyday at-bats for Hoskins likely means slotting him into the lineup as the DH and shifting Christian Yelich back into an everyday left field role. In such a scenario, assuming Jackson Chourio returns to center field and Sal Frelick mans right field, leading NL Rookie of the Year candidate Isaac Collins would be the odd man out. That's a tough move to make, however, Collins' numbers have slipped a little bit over the last two weeks. He's slashing just .173/.237/.365 over his last 15 games.

It's unlikely that the lineup will be the same day in and day out, meaning Pat Murphy will mix and match defensive alignments to find at-bats for everyone. Luckily, the fact that Yelich has shown an ability to effectively cover left field means that DH at-bats could be in play for Hoskins. Meanwhile, having Bauers, Hoskins, and Vaughn on the roster in September, when the Brewers can carry 28 players, is justifiable, but the team will likely have to choose two of the three for the postseason when rosters go back down to 26.

More than anything, both the Brewers and Hoskins himself must be eager for his return. After emerging as a leader in the clubhouse during the first few months of the season, having Hoskins back on the field and competing will inevitably be a boost to the team's morale.