It has not been an easy year at the plate for Gavin Lux during the 2024 season as he makes his return after missing a full year in 2023.
He spent a significant portion of the season so far batting under .200, but has continued to get a lions share of the starts at second base for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
His play on defense, along with the confidence of his manager and the Dodgers, has allowed Lux to receive consistent playing time, with appearances in 52 of 69 games this season.
The former No. 2 overall prospect in baseball in 2020 according to MLB Pipeline, Lux was considered an elite offensive prospect when he received his call-up.
Lux showed a lot of improvement in 2022, batting .276/.346/.399 in 421 at-bats. It was just his second full season as a pro, and he seemed setup for a breakout season in 2023 before his injury.
For all of these reasons, the Dodgers have been extremely patient with Lux this season despite his struggles. They believe that he is still capable of becoming the caliber of player that can contributed, and they want to give him every opportunity possible to prove them right.
“I think the needle is pointing up,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think that for me, I’m just looking for the consistency of quality of at-bat. I think in the first 150, there were a number of empty at-bats. And I think that looking out, let’s try to curtail those and minimize those.”
It hasn’t been all bad news for Lux in 2024 as he is currently in the 96th percentile for chase rate and the 74th percentile for whiff rate. He has consistently stayed around this range all season, but they have not translated to tangible results until recently.
The numbers haven’t been great over 150 at-bat sample size, but there is cause for hope when looking at his past 30 games and especially his last 15. Lux has hit .240/.288/.346 over his last 30 games (27 starts).
The numbers are even better when looking at Lux’s past 15 games, during which he’s batted a .255/.309/.314.
Gavin Lux has good day against Rangers
Lux went 2-for-4 with a walk in the Dodgers’ 15-2 victory over the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. It was his second consecutive game reaching base three times after a 3-for-4 performance in the series finale against the New York Yankees on Sunday.
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