Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager had a memorable 2016 season, as not only was he the unanimous National League Rookie of the Year selection, but he also finished third in the NL MVP voting.
Seager will look to build of that as he heads into his sophomore season, but first and foremost he’s working to get healthy in time for Opening Day, which for the Dodgers is Monday. Dealing with a bit of a oblique injury, Seager has not played in a Spring Training game since March 3.
After successfully going through workouts, he’s recently logged at-bats and played shortstop in Minor League games at Camelback Ranch. Seager is expected to join the Dodgers in Saturday’s exhibition Freeway Series finale.
Many have named the 22-year-old among the favorites to be named 2017 NL MVP. While that’s not beyond reason, one Major League scout, who is a fan of Seager’s talent, believes the young shortstop may regress a bit, via Sports Illustrated:
Corey Seager actually might regress as a sophomore. If he doesn’t, it would be amazing. I think he’s a Hall of Fame player. He can do everything.
In his first full Major League season, Seager played in 157 games and batted .308/.365/.512 with 26 home runs, 72 RBIs and 105 runs scored. A regression from that would certainly still qualify as a productive year.
What will work in Seager’s favor this season is he’s gained experience of going through a full year and is now aware of how to better maintain his body so as to avoid fatigue down the stretch. What’s more, Seager himself said that he didn’t have his ‘A’ swing in 2016.
So it wouldn’t be surprising if Seager proved the scout wrong and actually took a step forward in 2017 as opposed to a step back.
