Top Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Gavin Lux has had an uneven transition from Triple-A Oklahoma City since making his MLB debut. Lux got a hit in each of his first two at-bats, but then only had one total in his next five games.
However, he seems to be acclimating to MLB pitching during the Dodgers’ current road trip. Lux hit his first career home run during the National League West clincher on Tuesday, then followed that up with a three-run shot off the New York Mets’ Noah Syndergaard on Friday to break a tie.
It remains to be seen whether Lux has played well enough to make the postseason roster, especially with playoff-tested veterans Max Muncy, Chris Taylor and Kiké Hernandez all currently healthy. However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has still left the door open for Lux to play his way into contention for October.
In the meantime, Lux believes he is becoming more comfortable as a big league hitter, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I think they’ve been good. I’ve had a lot of fun doing it, getting more comfortable in the (batter’s) box and kind of feeling more like myself again. Just trying to find barrels and help the team win. At the end of the day that’s all that matters and that’s all I really care about. So I’m enjoying it.”
The Dodgers initially considered giving Lux an apprenticeship where he would travel and suit up with the team without actually being added to their active roster. They did so with Will Smith in late 2018, and he enjoyed some instant Major League success upon his first actual promotion earlier this season.
The team’s struggles, paired with Muncy’s injury, prompted the Dodgers to give Lux a full call-up instead. However, Lux has not made the decision to keep him on the roster in the playoffs as easy as Corey Seager did in a similar situation in 2015.
Like Lux, Seager had success in Triple-A and was deemed to good a prospect for the Dodgers to trade in an immediate midseason deal.
However, Seager filled an obvious positional need for the Dodgers with struggling veteran Jimmy Rollins at shortstop. He also enjoyed immediate and consistent success in the Major Leagues in a way Lux has yet to do.
Still, the Dodgers will apparently at least consider Lux as they attempt to compile the best roster possible for another run to the World Series.
