Tommy Edman has gotten off to a hot start since returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month after recovering from offseason right ankle surgery.
The 31-year-old enters play Monday batting .333/.405/.455 with two doubles, one triple and four RBI in 37 plate appearances through his first 10 games. Edman has found success on both sides of the plate, hitting .300 as a left-hander and .348 as a right-hander.
“I feel like this is kind of one of the rare times where both swings feel good, both from the right and left,” Edman said on SportsNet LA. “It’s really tough to maintain both swings over the course of the season, so I’m just happy that I feel that way right now.”
Edman attributed his switch-hitting success to having a consistent routine over the past month. Part of that has stemmed from no long experiencing right ankle trouble and implementing “a couple new drills.”
“It’s nothing crazy. I’m not taking like a million swings right now. I feel like I’ve just got a good routine down,” Edman noted. “Part of it is kind of just breaking habits that I think I built last year. I was just getting into some bad movements with the lower body, probably just compensating for the ankle, and hips get out of whack, and that kind of stuff.
“I’m hopeful that I’ll just be able to keep this up the rest of the year and just be consistent with it. And that’s kind of what it’s all about, is just having a steady swing that you can trust and a swing that you can always fall back on.”
Edman’s offensive success coincides with the Dodgers collectively having a productive month of June. They are tied for second in walk percentage (10.6), third in on-base percentage (.346) and tied for third with 5.2 FanGraphs’ WAR.
Dodgers’ plan for Tommy Edman
Edman has received the bulk of his playing time in left field with Teoscar Hernández sidelined because of a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. With the veteran outfielder set to be activated off the 10-day injured list before Monday’s series opener against the Athletics, Edman figures to receive more starts at second base going forward.
Edman could also get occasional opportunities at third base when Max Muncy needs a day off.
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