In a month where the Los Angeles Dodgers were without the services of Clayton Kershaw and other key players still sidelined on the disabled list, the club managed to post a 15-9 record during July, closing the gap on the San Francisco Giants’ lead in the National League West.
The bats came alive and the pitching staff held their own in the absence of their ace, amounting to a very solid month all-around. Let’s look back at which players found success and those who struggled as another month of the regular season is now in the books.
Regulars
Adrian Gonzalez: Despite hitting just three home runs during July, Gonzalez still excelled offensively.
He posted a terrific .315/.392/.472 slash line in 102 plate appearances and drove in 16 runs — the second-most on the team.
Yasmani Grandal: Among players on the team with at least 80 plate appearances, Grandal posted the highest wRC+ (201) and wOBA (.467), behind a strong .324/.439/.691 slash line.
Grandal also made a bit of history as he became the first Dodgers catcher to hit at least eight home runs in a month since Todd Hundley did so back in May 2000. Additionally, Grandal was tied for the team-lead in FanGraphs WAR with 1.4.
Howie Kendrick: The second baseman turned left fielder continued his resurgence at the plate during the month of July, slashing .344/.425/.538 in 106 plate appearances with a 165 wRC+ — good for second-highest on the team among qualifiers.
Joc Pederson: In just 10 games (41 plate appearances), Pederson batted .278 with a .906 on-base plus slugging percentage, and had four extra-base hits, including three home runs.
Yasiel Puig: Battling a hamstring injury for a good portion of the month, Puig still enjoyed a bounce-back in July.
In 19 games (72 plate appearances), he slashed .283/.389/.417 (126 wRC+) with one homer and nine RBIs.
Corey Seager: The 22-year-old sensation continued his push towards NL Rookie of the Year with another impressive month.
In 101 plate appearances, Seager batted .347 with a .505 slugging percentage and posted a 142 wRC+ — 42 points above league average.
Justin Turner: He’s played a key role in reviving the Dodgers offense, batting third in the lineup on most days and providing the power.
In 110 plate appearances, Turner hit .313 with a .979 OPS — drilling eight doubles and seven home runs while driving in a team-leading 21 RBIs. He also posted a 162 wRC+ and tied for team-lead in FanGraphs WAR with 1.4.
Chase Utley: Appearing in 20 games, Utley posted a fair .711 OPS with two homers and 14 runs scored in 86 plate appearances
Among all starting positional players, Utley was the only one to post a sub-100 wRC+ (94), which is a mere six points below league average. If anything, that’s a testament to how well the Dodgers offense performed as a whole during the month of July.
Bench
Chris Taylor: The utility player put up a .717 OPS (88 wRC+) with a homer and seven RBIs in 40 plate appearances.
Andrew Toles: Since being promoted to the Majors, Toles has provided a spark to the Dodgers’ outfield, posting a superb slash line of .316/.395/.395 in 43 plate appearances.
Scott Van Slyke: The lefty-masher sported an overall slash line of .271/.345/.313 in 55 plate appearances.
Rotation
Scott Kazmir: In five starts, the lefty pitched to a 3.58 ERA, 3.06 FIP and 2.80 xFIP in 27.2 innings.
Kenta Maeda: Also receiving five starts, Maeda posted a high ERA of 4.61 in 27.1 innings but maintained solid peripherals — a 3.21 FIP and 3.18 xFIP.
Brandon McCarthy: Since returning from Tommy John surgery, McCarthy has been everything the Dodgers could’ve hoped for.
In five starts, he’s posted a 2.39 ERA and 2.64 FIP with 11.28 strikeouts per nine in 26.1 innings pitched.
Bud Norris: Appearing in seven games (six starts), Norris put up a 4.34 ERA and 4.10 FIP in 29 innings.
Bullpen
Luis Avilan: Since being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City, Avilan has pitched to a 1.23 ERA in seven innings over nine games.
Pedro Baez: The righty did not allow an earned run in 14.2 innings during July and backed up his 0.00 ERA with a solid 1.84 FIP.
Joe Blanton: The setup man saw his July ERA balloon to 4.05 towards the end of the month but still put up a fantastic 2.16 FIP in 13.1 innings pitched.
Louis Coleman: Coleman appeared in a team-leading 14 games during July, posting a 4.09 ERA and 3.68 FIP with 1.64 walks per nine innings.
Casey Fien: It was a brutal month for Fien, who eventually found himself on the disabled list after appearing in seven games (4.2 innings) and posting disastrous numbers virtually everywhere: 11.57 ERA, 5.79 BB/9 and 7.71 HR/9.
Chris Hatcher: Like Fien, Hatcher also underperformed and made his way to the disabled list. In this case, he posted an 8.22 ERA with an unlucky .391 BABIP in 7.2 innings.
J.P. Howell: In 10 innings, Howell pitched to a minuscule 0.90 ERA but walked 4.50 batters per nine — amounting to a 4.13 FIP.
Kenley Jansen: The All-Star closer was dominant once again, posting a 1.35 ERA and 2.01 FIP with a stunning 13.50 K/9 in 13.1 innings while also picking up eight saves.
Adam Liberatore: The emerging left-handed specialist allowed runs in a month for the first time since May but still posted acceptable numbers: a 4.32 ERA and even better 1.81 FIP in 8.1 innings pitched.
