When Corey Seager underwent Tommy John surgery last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers projected he would make a full recovery by Opening Day of the 2019 season. The timetable remained unchanged even after Seager later underwent arthroscopic hip surgery.
The former National League Rookie of the Year winner proceeded to navigate his way through an arduous rehab process and was eased back into game action during Spring Training. Seager flied out to the wall in his first Cactus League at-bat, then hit a home run his next time up.
While an encouraging sign for Seager and the Dodgers, it invariably created unrealistic expectations. He struggled to start to the season, which in reality should not have come as a surprise considering the amount of time between playing in Major League games.
Dating back to Mother’s Day when he drove a sacrifice fly to the wall in left field and hit a grand slam, Seager appears to have turned a corner. He hit a home run in Friday’s win over the Cincinnati Reds and acknowledged being in a better rhythm of late, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“Just kind of putting better swings on balls right now. That’s just kind of getting luckier. That’s where we are.”
Seager expanded on his troubles through the first six weeks of the season, noting there was a period required to again become familiar with the intricacies of batting:
“It’s tough. You hadn’t done it for a while, there’s things you forget about, there’s things that you’ve got to redo and re-learn. It’s just kind of been like that. Hasn’t been a negative, it’s just kind of where I am. … That’s one of the things that was a struggle in the beginning, just getting in the batter’s box, you’re uncomfortable. It’s hard to compete when you don’t feel comfortable. Every game, every rep, you get a little more comfortable.”
Dating back to his big day at the plate to help the Dodgers earn a series split with the Washington Nationals, Seager is batting .400/.375/.867 with one double, two home runs and seven RBI.
The Dodgers still managed to become the first team to 20 wins this season, then first to 30, even as Seager has worked through finding his comfort level and ideal swing mechanics. What’s already a deep lineup figures to only become more potent once the two-time Silver Slugger begins to regularly meet expectations.
