After a monster Minor League season in 2019, Gavin Lux reported to Spring Training this year as the favorite to win starting job at second base and become the latest Los Angeles Dodgers player to earn Rookie of the Year.
Unfortunately, things didn’t play out as Lux had hoped due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He reported to Summer Camp late after the long layoff due to undisclosed reasons, and once he did show up, looked nothing like the 2019 version of himself.
With Lux needing more time to get ready to play at the Major League level, he was optioned to the team’s alternate training site at USC before Opening Day while Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernandez mostly split second-base duties for L.A.
Lux eventually got the call up to the Dodgers, making his season debut on Aug. 27. With the team already established as the best in baseball, Lux essentially took a back seat in 2020, getting just a handful of starts and at-bats off the bench.
In 19 regular-season games, Lux hit just .175./246/.349 with two doubles, three home runs, eight runs scored and eight RBI.
While he was left off the team’s Wild Card Series roster against the Milwaukee Brewers, Lux was then added to the roster for the National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres. He didn’t get much playing time, however, striking out in his only at-bat before being left off the active roster for the remainder of the postseason.
2020 highlight
In a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Sept. 8, Lux showed a glimpse of what is to come in the future by putting together his best performance of the season.
He got the scoring started in the second inning with a solo home run off Luke Weaver. He then drove in a run with a single in the seventh inning and walked in the eighth, marking the first time in the season he had reached base three times.
Lux’s night wasn’t done there though as the game eventually went to extra innings with the score tied at six. The Dodgers took a 7-6 lead in the 10th, and Lux stepped to the plate with two runners on and a chance to add to that.
He capped off his night with a towering three-run home run to right field, his second of the game, to extend the lead to 10-6. That proved to be much-needed as Arizona scored three runs in the bottom of the 10th, but the Dodgers were able to hang on for the 10-9 victory.
Lux finished the night 3-for-5 with a walk, two home runs and a career-high five RBI.
2021 outlook
Even though Lux hasn’t been able to put it all together at the Major League level yet, he is still someone the organization is very high on.
If he isn’t traded for a star like Nolan Arenado or Francisco Lindor this offseason, then Lux will head to Spring Training in 2021 with an opportunity to earn the everyday job at second base once again.
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