When the Los Angeles Dodgers called up Cody Bellinger from Triple-A Oklahoma City for his MLB debut, his stay with the team was expected to be relatively brief. But additional injuries, coupled with Bellinger’s production, has resulted in the 21-year-old becoming an everyday player.
The bulk of Bellinger’s playing time has come in left field, where he’s made multiple diving catches and thrown out a runner at home plate in demonstration of his versatility. At the plate, Bellinger has quickly established himself as a dynamic hitter.
However, the organization’s top hitting prospect, technically former prospect at this juncture, has gone through a bit of a lull that’s coincided with a rising strikeout rate.
According to David Vaseegh of AM 570 L.A. Sports Radio, that isn’t something Bellinger is concerned about:
“I know who I am. Right now, I’m striking out a lot, as everyone knows. I’m not worried about it at all, because that’s baseball. There’s adjustments being made. I’ve been working, just trying to stay more consistent.”
Bellinger enters play Friday hitting .247/.321/.547 with seven doubles, 12 home runs and 31 RBI in 41 games. His production slowly tailed off as May wore on, though Bellinger was still named National League Rookie of the Month.
He leads the Dodgers in home runs and RBI, and became the fastest player in franchise history to both nine and 10 career home runs. Bellinger’s 42.3 strikeout rate for June is the highest mark for any month he’s spent with the Dodgers thus far. He’s struck out at least twice in five of his past six games.
