Rhys

Hoskins

Daniel Schneeman will bat fifth and play center field in Hoskins’ absence, allowing a DH day for Chase DeLauter. We’d say this looks like a routine day off, but when you’re hitting .190/.338/.388 in 44 games lower on the defensive spectrum as a low-risk signing, your roster spot is obviously on shaky ground.

Hoskins took Nationals lefty opener PJ Poulin deep in the second inning for his fifth big fly of the year. He struck out his final three times up in the one-sided affair. The 33-year-old power-hitting first baseman is slashing .190/.338/.388 with five homers and 20 RBI through 44 games in his Cleveland debut.

The homer was just a 343-footer down the left field line, but Hoskins needs those at this stage of his career. He’s batting .207/.353/.390 while starting about half of the time for the Guardians. He will be in there again on Wednesday with the Royals pitching southpaw Cole Ragans.

Hoskins is a part-time player right now, but with Kyle Manzardo off to the kind of start that demands a demotion to Triple-A, it’s quite possible he’ll be a full-timer at some point. His .219/.367/.384 line isn’t all that great, but that .751 OPS is 250 points higher than Manzardo’s .498 mark.

This is now the second straight game that Hoskins has started on the bench. The veteran is hitting .214/.353/.357 with a 28 percent strikeout rate and just one home run. Hoskins still has an 11 percent barrel rate, but he’s not pulling the ball as often as before. Perhaps he just needs to warm up. Jose Ramirez will DH on Wednesday with Daniel Schneemann at third base and Juan Brito at second base.

Hoskins will get a day off with Chase DeLauter serving as the designated hitter and George Valera getting the start in right.

All of Hoskins’ doubles were at least 98 mph off the bat, and he also added a 102.1 mph flyout on the day. The 33-year-old is seeing the ball pretty well to start the season, with a .259/.394/.444 slash line and two RBI. The power hasn’t materialized yet, but when it warms up in the North, the ball should start to carry a bit. He remains a solid option in 15-team leagues.

It’s the second straight game that Hoskins has found himself on the bench for after starting the Guardians’ first two contests. José Ramírez will function as the Guardians’ designated hitter on Sunday with Kyle Manzardo drawing another start at first base.

Hoskins has hit well in his first few games with Cleveland, although he did have one of the most bizarre baserunning mistakes you’ll see when he tried to tag up and score on a 200-foot pop-up. Chase DeLauter is the designated hitter Saturday against Bryan Woo, Angel Martinez will handle left and CJ Keyfus is in right. Bo Naylor also gets a break with David Fry hitting fifth and catching.

Hoskins, who has five 25-homer seasons under his belt, hit the hardest ball of his career tonight, reaching 112.3 mph on his double. He’d previously gotten to 112.2 mph a couple of times, though his high since missing 2023 with an ACL tear was 111.2 mph. The Guardians might have brought him initially as a starter against lefties, but he’s probably going to play regularly for the foreseeable future. We wouldn’t rush to grab him in standard mixed leagues, but he might offer value in deeper formats.