Dodgers Analysis: What’s Wrong with Mookie Betts?

DENVER, CO— After a rainy afternoon at Coors Field, the Los Angeles Dodgers came out victorious over their National League West foe, the Colorado Rockies, giving the team their 51st win of the regular season, tying them for the best record in Major League Baseball.

However, one man wasn’t too celebratory: Mookie Betts

On the night, Betts was a dreadful 0-for-5, dropping his season slash line to .253/.333/.388 and a barely above league-average wRC+ of 104.

For many, this would be a respectable yearly performance, but for Betts, an eight-time All-Star, three-time World Series Champion, and a Most Valuable Player Award winner, it’s not good enough.

As we approach July and the mid-way point of the season, Betts’ current career-lows in OPS, OPS+, and wRC+, and is only on pace for twenty home runs, his lowest mark over a full season since his sophomore year.

Prior to Thursday’s game, Betts is 10-for-59 (.169) with just six RBI, four runs scored, and three extra base hits in that span, and despite a decent showing in Game One of this weekday series in Colorado, frustration is still mounting.

“It’s been really tough,” he admitted. “But it kind of is what it is. Never played short every day and being sick… there’s a lot of variables that go into it. But, you know, you got to figure it out.”

And while the questions keep coming, Betts made it clear that he’s searching for answers just like everyone else.

“If I knew [what the problem was], I wouldn’t keep doing it,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for so long. I’m genuinely trying to figure it out each and every day.

So, what’s the issue? Let’s dig in.

The Move to Shortstop

Okay, let’s get the easy scapegoat answer out of the way first. No, Mookie Betts’ struggles offensively this season are not due to him playing shortstop.

This is something I’ve seen frequently on social media from multiple fans and even a few writers, including myself. The idea of moving Mookie Betts back to right field sounds enticing, however, it’s not going to happen.

After a full offseason to work on the position, Betts has become one of the best defensive shortstops in the league, ranking in the 94th percentile in OAA and with seven Defensive Runs Saved this season.

Last year, Betts had nine errors (eight throwing) and a below league-average fielding percentage of .963. This season: four errors and a .984 fielding percentage.

The amount of effort required from the middle infield is daunting, with shortstop being pegged by many as the most challenging position in baseball, aside from catcher.

Not many players head into their thirties seeking a position change from outfield to infield, but Betts is different. Most players wouldn’t last with the change, but if you look at his numbers last year, he was an All-Star.

Before a wrist injury would sideline Betts for nearly two months, he was arguably on pace to win his second career MVP award.

During the first half of the 2024 regular season, Betts had a .304/.405/.488 slash line, a .892 OPS, and a 153 wRC+, all while switching from right field to shortstop on the fly at the end of spring training.

It hasn’t gone right offensively for Betts this season, but to say it’s the move to the infield is not a valid response.

From Leadoff Hitter to Two-Hole Batter

The mental side of a baseball player can be just as daunting as the physical. Last season, Betts not only broke his wrist and missed half of the season but also lost his spot in the batting order and was deemed “not good enough” for shortstop.

In Betts’ absence, two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani took flight as the new Dodgers leadoff hitter, hitting .310 with a 191 wRC+, all while clobbering thirty-five home runs and stealing forty-four bases en route to his third MVP win.

The result left Betts as the Dodgers’ two-hole hitter, an area where he has not had as much success. Overall, including this season, Betts is a .280/.356/.455 hitter in the two-hole with a .811 OPS compared to a .913 OPS leading off.

It’s not the first time the Dodgers tried shifting around Betts in the order, as during his first season with the club, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had Betts toward the middle of the lineup.

That didn’t last long as the 2018 MVP voiced his desire to remain as the first batter in the order.

“I think it’s just more comfortable in the leadoff spot, knowing that I don’t have to look at the lineup,” he said after the Dodgers defeated the Brewers in Game Two of the 2020 Wild Card Round. “I know where I’m hitting and playing, so that was just a comfort thing.”

Despite the Dodgers adding other players such as Trea Turner and even Shohei Ohtani, who had a history of batting first, the Dodgers opted to leave Betts in the leadoff spot—until last year, when the decision was out of Betts’ hands.

The position of the Dodgers’ lineup has been up for debate recently, largely due to the return of Shohei Ohtani to the mound, as the Dodgers don’t want to rush their offensive star to the plate after throwing a half-inning of pitches.

However, the Dodgers reiterated their current statement regarding Ohtani, which is that of constant communication between both parties. So, for now, it appears Ohtani will remain in the leadoff spot.

Lingering Injury?

Remember that wrist injury to Mookie Betts? Well, what if it’s still a lingering issue for the right-hander?

Once Betts returned in August, it was clear he wasn’t the same hitter that the Dodgers saw in the first half of the season.

Overall, his stats dipped across the board with the right fielder hitting a combined .263/.314/.497 along with an .811 OPS, but was still above league average with a 119 wRC+ in 185 plate appearances.

The “slump” for Betts would continue into October after Betts went hitless in the first two games of the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres.

Although Betts’ bat did wake up from Game Three until the end of the Fall Classic, with Betts statistically being the team’s best hitter with a 152 wRC+ last postseason.

Still, that dip in offense has followed him into the 2025 season, with many of his numbers mirroring each other, including OPS and wRC+.

While the injury may be healed, the effects afterward, especially with a part as sensitive as the wrist, could linger for weeks, months, and possibly years.

Then you have the Cody Bellinger situation, where the player may attempt to correct or tweak their swing to avoid feeling pain, inadvertently creating bad habits along the way.

What the Metrics Say

A quick look at the Baseball Savant page and you’ll get a clear picture of what a significant factor is in his offense. He’s not hitting the ball hard enough.

Despite hitting just .253 this season entering Thursday, the righty ranks in the 99th percentile in Squared-Up percentage, 83rd in Chase percentage, 88th in Whiff percentage, and 98th in Strikeout percentage, so he’s not lost at the plate.

What is concerning is that the average exit velocity on balls hit by Mookie Betts is just 88.2 mph, which ranks in the bottom fourth of the league, and his Hard-Hit percentage is even worse, ranking in at the 20th percentile.

A significant factor in this is the bat speed, which is lacking for the eight-time All-Star, averaging just 68.6, or in the 11th percentile.

Mookie Betts’ bat speed has decreased in recent years. In 2023, his average bat speed was 71.3 mph, placing him around the middle of the pack among MLB hitters. However, it dropped to 69 mph in 2024 and further to 68.6 mph this season, putting him in the lower percentiles.

Another reason for the decrease in his bat speed numbers could be due to the illness Betts suffered at the beginning of the season, which in turn made him lose around twenty pounds.

“My bat speed, even fully healthy, is already below average,” Betts said in May. “Now you take off 20 pounds, and it’s even worse. I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve got to do whatever it takes to get the barrel going.”

Fast-forward to now, and Betts has regained that lost weight and is still struggling, even worse than at the start of the season.

It’s a simple problem, but a complex solution for Betts, but one Dodger he could take a note from is veteran outfielder Michael Conforto.

Conforto, 32, recently underwent a few minor adjustments to his batting stance with the Dodgers’ hitting coaches; however, the most impactful change is the weight of his bat.

According to the SportsNet LA broadcast, in order for Conforto to rectify his problem of being late on fastballs, the team opted to make his bat weight lighter.

We could see Betts take a similar route, being a smaller guy and already having elite hand-eye coordination, a simple change, such as bat weight, could be the solution.

On Thursday, Betts ended his series in Colorado going 2-for-4 with an RBI infield single, helping the Dodgers win the ballgame 3-1. The next step will be to build off the little victories today and push forward for the second half, hoping to find some resemblance to the old Mookie Betts.

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