After so many players had great seasons in the 2017 MLB season, who are going to be the ones to take their place this year? Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge were the two biggest players to emerge onto the pro stage last year. Who will be the players to take their place and achieve greatness this year?
I have two players in mind that I could see making a bigger name for themselves this year, and they are Rhys Hoskins and Christian Yelich.
Let's start with Hoskins, a twenty-five-year-old that was called up in the second half of the season last year with a lot of pop. They now look to him to provide the home runs and RBI's necessary to help this young Phillies team get back on the map. In just fifty games last year Hoskins had 18 home runs, 44 hits, 48 RBI's and an average of 259. A first basemen who can also play the corners in the outfield is something that this team has been looking for since Ryan Howard was the big bat in the line-up. If the Phillies do end up getting Jake Arietta, look for them to be a sleeper team with nothing to loose next year. If they don't, look for this guy to punish baseballs for 162 games this year.
Now Yelich is an interesting one, a player that has been in the league for 5 years that has gotten better every single year. He was traded this offseason along with the rest of the Marlins, for three prospects to the Milwaukee Brewers. In 156 games last season, he had 18 home runs, 81 RBI's 16 stolen bases, and achieve 100 runs scored for the first time in his career. He is the definition of what every team needs at the top of their line-up. This guy is a five tool player who controls the game in center field, he's already had a gold glove season along with a silver slugger to his name. Also along side him now will be a guy who he can learn even more from as well. Lorenzo Cain was signed this offseason and will bring a new look to the Brewers.
There's many reasons that I love baseball, but what I love the most is the unpredictability about it. You can analyze as many stats as you want, but in this game you really never know what's going to happen. Now we wait for opening day which is just over a month away.
