Appearing in just 26 games last year as a result of undergoing Tommy John surgery, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager entered the 2019 season looking to replicate the success he enjoyed in previous campaigns.
When healthy, Seager has proven to be a game-changer on both sides of the ball. During the 2016 and ’17 MLB seasons, he earned unanimous National League Rookie of the Year honors, was selected to the All-Star team in both years and won two Silver Slugger Awards.
But after a long layoff and the fact that he was returning from two major surgeries, there were many questions and uncertainties surrounding Seager. Some wondered if the 25-year-old would be able to simply play his position again.
While his defense hasn’t been an issue in the early going, Seager has endured some initial struggles at the plate. After a slow start offensively, Seager has begun to show signs of a potential breakthrough.
He recently credited Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ decision to drop him in the lineup for his recent surge, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
“I wouldn’t say it hurt. It was one of those things where it definitely takes you out of some pressure spots sometimes. That’s something that can be beneficial at times. I was struggling so it definitely didn’t hurt. “But you’re still working and you know you’re going to get pitched the same way.”
Seager previously revealed that hitting lower in the batting order has helped alleviate the pressure that came with batting at the top of the lineup.
In 32 games across March and April, Seager compiled a weak .236/.333/.364 slash line with eight doubles and two home runs over 126 plate appearances.
Roberts noticed his star shortstop was pressing and eventually dropped him in the batting order, where he now bats behind the likes of third baseman Justin Turner and right fielder Cody Bellinger.
Seager has fared better in the month of May, hitting .265/.351/.482 with six doubles and four home runs over 97 trips to the plate across 22 games.
Seager has particularly seen the ball well during his six-game hitting streak, collecting nine hits — five of them for extra bases — in 24 at-bats.
While the bulk of Seager’s starts (20) have come with him batting second, he’s also been slotted third (eight starts), fourth (six), fifth (10), sixth (fifth) in the lineup. On Tuesday, Seager batted seventh for the first time since 2016.
