Bellinger’s powerful start might spur Dodgers shake-up
Eleven games do not a phenom make, but the prodigious start to Cody Bellinger’s career portends well for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bellinger, 21, has five home runs in those 11 games — the Dodgers won eight of them — and with every sweet swing he seems to force the club’s hand to keep him up all year. A look at Bellinger’s start, and where he might go from here.
The prospect
The Dodgers were expecting great things from Bellinger, their top-ranked prospect, just not this soon. He’s a natural first baseman, and that position has been occupied by five-time All-Star Adrian Gonzalez, so Bellinger began the season at Class AAA Oklahoma City.
Despite playing in three previous games at that level, 6-4, 210-pound Bellinger built on the power numbers he put up in the minor leagues and the Arizona Fall League last year, fashioning an eye-popping 1.055 on-base plus slugging percentage and five home runs in 18 games before his April 25 call-up.
The debut
Bellinger’s hot start and versatility — he runs well and can play all three outfield positions — earned him a promotion when center fielder Joc Pederson went on the disabled list. Bellinger hasn’t come out of the lineup since, and the relevant question in L.A. might be who’s going to get the Wally Pipp treatment. Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote last week that the Dodgers have to keep Bellinger in the majors: “No matter where he plays, the kid stays The club won’t be forced into a decision for a while, since Gonzalez was placed on the DL with back and elbow problems Friday, allowing Bellinger to slide to first base.
Bellinger has belted two homers in a game twice, and his total of five home runs is tied for the team lead. No other Dodger since at least 1900 has hit that many in his first 11 games. Since RBI became an official statistic in 1920, Bellinger is the second major leaguer to combine five homers and 14 RBI in his first 11 games.
It might be instructive to realize the first one was the Kansas City Royals’ Mark Quinn in 1999. Quinn went on to play three more seasons in the majors, so caution is advised regarding Bellinger’s early heroics.
What they’re saying
“When you see a young player coming up, everyone has an expectation of how it’s going to play out,” manager Dave Roberts said. “With Cody, every time he steps into the batter’s box you think something really exciting is going to happen.” “The best thing for our team right now is for Cody to keep playing, because he is playing well, and let me get right,” said Gonzalez, who was playing through his injuries before landing on the DL for the first time in his 14- year career .“Ob vi ously, if he keeps playing well, he should be in the lineup. But when I’m ready, when I’m right, I know I can contribute and we’ll reassess at that point.” “He’s got a big swing, a big powerful swing,” says Oakland Athletics starter Jharel Cotton, a former teammate of Bellinger’s in the Dodgers organization. “Good guy in the clubhouse, good teammate. He’s a young kid, but I think he’s mature for his age. You can tell he’s going to be something really, really special. He goes about his business the right way.”
An aptitude for the game
A fourth-round pick out of high school in the 2013 draft, Bellinger is the son of former major league utilityman Clay Bellinger. The youngster’s feel for the game comes through in his ability to make adjustments. Bellinger focused more on making contact early in his pro career, then started driving the ball out of the park in his third season, at Class A. During spring training he closed his stance uprightClass Shawn AAA after Wooten,and hitting workinggot and coachmore withthe change paid off. “I’m able to use my leverage a little more consistently,” Bellinger told USA TODAY Sports the day of his major league debut. “I saw results toward the end of the spring and tried to carry it on to the season.” The next big thing? The Dodgers already boast one of the top young players in the game in 2016 NL rookie of the year Corey Seager, who finished third in the MVP voting, in addi- tion to a pitching wunderkind in lefty Julio Urias, 20.
Whether a poised and polished Bellinger can break into the ranks of the young megastars — an elite niche occupied by the likes of Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Seager and Francisco Lindor — likely will hinge on how he responds to the inevitable twists opposing pitchers throw at him.
With his upright stance and unapologetically gargantuan swing, Bellinger would seem to be vulnerable to inside fastballs. But he has the quick hands to get around on them, plus the power to go deep without pulling the ball.
Also notable: Bellinger struck out in 28% of his plate appearances in 2015 at Class A, sliced that figure to just under 20% the next year, spent mostly at Class AA, and is currently at 17.4%, albeit in only 46 plate appearances with the Dodgers. His batting average on balls in play is .345, which suggests a possible correction is in order.
It’s obviously extremely premature to project Bellinger to rise to the level of baseball’s young studs, but breaking into the majors at 21 in such spectacular fashion — and with a strong minor league track record — gives him a leg up.
What’s next
Smooth-fielding Bellinger — named the National League’s player of the week Monday — will be a first baseman until Gonzalez returns. At that point, things will get interesting. Hampered by injuries, Gonzalez is batting .255 — more than 30 points below his career mark — and has yet to homer. But he’s a highly respected veteran whose contract extends through 2018. Though he turned 35 on Monday, it’s hard to envision Gonzalez sitting for extended stretches in favor of Bellinger A more likely candidate to lose playing time might be Pederson, who is batting .208 with one homer and has a career .185 average against lefties, the Dodgers’ Achilles’ heel. Bellinger is at .333, but again, in only 12 at-bats.