Of the nine rookies who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season, and eight of whom made their MLB debut, no one arrived with more fanfare than Gavin Lux.
The organization’s top prospect began the year with Double-A Tulsa before earning a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he continued to shine. Beyond his success at the plate, Lux also improved in the field — both at shortstop and by becoming more versatile.
His ability to play second base proved key as the Dodgers called Lux up at the start of September. At the time 21 years old, he singled in his first at-bat and went 2-for-5 with a double and three runs scored.
Lux’s initial time in the Majors, which included making the Dodgers’ postseason roster, was otherwise a modest — if not uneven — showing. It’s a fact he acknowledged to Pedro Moura of The Athletic:
“Obviously, I thought I could have performed better,” Lux said. “I think I could’ve controlled my at-bats better. I tried to speed things up and do a little more than I should’ve. In Triple A, in Double A, it’s another day. It’s like, ‘I know I’m better than this guy.’ Then when I got called up, I tried to do a little more.”
With his MLB and postseason debuts now behind him, Lux is confident
“Now that I have my feet wet,” he said, “I think I’m a little more comfortable moving forward.”
Lux appeared in 23 games over the final month of the regular season, batting .240/.305/.400 with four doubles, one triple, two home runs and nine RBI. He had just two hits in nine at-bats during the National League Division Series, but nonetheless etched his name into the record books.
At 21 years and 314 days old, Lux became the second-youngest player in MLB history to hit a homer in his first postseason plate appearance, the youngest in Dodgers franchise history to slug one in the postseason, and their first to leave the yard in his first at-bat in the playoffs.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts stopped short of naming Lux the team’s everyday second baseman for 2020, but it’s a role he’s likely to fill coming out of Spring Training.
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