The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup is led by former MVP winners Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman, but manager Dave Roberts has regularly emphasized the need for its depth, which includes Will Smith and Max Muncy, among others, to contribute as well in order for the team to reach their ultimate goal.
Smith and Teoscar Hernández are off to blistering starts this season but Muncy has been mired in some struggles to begin his 2024.
While making everyday starts at third base, Muncy has shown some early power at the plate but also been susceptible to striking out.
He went 2-for-4 with two RBI in the Dodgers’ win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, and after the game explained he’d been having recent trouble picking up pitches, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“I haven’t been seeing the ball real well the last couple days, so just trying to slow things. Trying to let my eyes adjust. Not sure what it is, just wasn’t seeing the ball real well. They were making some good pitches; I have to give them that. I was just trying to get myself to slow down in the box, not try to do too much, and I was able to get the barrel to a couple pitches.”
Muncy entered the series finale at Wrigley Field batting .286/.340/.429 with three doubles, one home run and seven RBI. He has hit safely in nine of 11 games this season but also finished with multiple strikeouts in nine of those as well.
Muncy was hitless with three strikeouts in five at-bats during the Dodgers’ loss to the Cubs in the series opener.
Max Muncy’s defense
Another area of concern with Muncy this season has been his defense at third base. He committed an error on Saturday that loaded the bases with two outs, though Yoshinobu Yamamoto picked him up.
Muncy struggled defensively last year and has had multiple lapses so far in 2024, but Roberts recently voiced confidence offseason work would begin to pay dividends.
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