Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — When you clinch the division shortly after Labor Day, it makes the final games of the season a little hard to judge. After a long 2022 campaign, it’s only natural to take the foot off the gas pedal for a bit, maybe lose focus a bit, and coast in the last couple weeks of the season. Still, momentum is a thing in sports, and all things being equal, it would be better to go into the post season riding a hot streak than being cold as ice. So, with that in mind, let’s take a quick survey and see who is swinging the bat the best down the homestretch.
I have limited myself to the last two games of the season, which were pretty much irrelevant. During that final stretch (15 games), the Dodgers went 8-7. Not exactly spectacular. And the high-flying offense seemed to cool considerably. Here’s what I found. I have included the slash line (AVG/OBP/SLG) for each player over his last 15 games.
Who’s hot?
- Hanser Alberto .385/.429/.462
- Cody Bellinger .326/.311/.525
- Justin Turner .286/.355/.357
- Will Smith .283/.295/.483
- Austin Barnes .267/.365/.444
- Trayce Thompson .250/.356/.521
Not exactly the players that we were expecting at the top of the leaderboard, is it? However, if the Dodgers can get production out of these guys, and the top of the lineup bounces back to form, it could be a very good October indeed.
Who’s not?
- Freddie Freeman .260/.422/.360
- Trea Turner .232/.295/.304
- Mookie Betts .231/.286/.385
- Chris Taylor .222/.276/.315
- Gavin Lux .161/.175/.196
- Miguel Vargas .158/.195/.237
- Max Muncy .152/.339/.283
- Joey Gallo .122/.255/.308
That’s a lot of guys. Freeman’s numbers aren’t awful, but they are so far below his production for the season that I put him on this list rather than the one above. The rest of these guys need to take some extra BP or something, because that is just not a winning lineup in October. So, in a way, this time off before the NLDS is a good thing. Call it an extended All-Star break.
The team will be taking it easy this weekend, but there will be practices and sim games to fill the time, with I’m sure one eye glued to Mets/Padres in the evening. Though the roster hasn’t been released yet (and probably won’t be until Monday or so), I’d imagine that it’s Vargas who gets left off this time around. Unless Dave Roberts wants to have an extra bat and go with one fewer pitcher, but I don’t see that happening.
Other than that, a lot will also depend on Chris Taylor’s availability, and how well he bounces back from his neck issue. If he’s out, Vargas would give some flexibility to the roster that would be critical in a series where all hands will be needed to win the thing.
