With Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Julio Urias no longer considered prospects, Cody Bellinger is now regarded as the Los Angeles Dodgers best Minor League position player. He joined the Dodgers during Spring Training for a second experience in big league camp.
Bellinger opened the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, which is where he finished in 2016 after a promotion from Double-A Tulsa. Although the season is still young, the 21-year-old is already turning heads with how well he’s swinging the bat, demonstrating power that very few players possess.
Wednesday night was Bellinger’s best game of the season, as OKC hosted the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.
Bellinger got off to a quick start, as in the bottom of the first inning he took Nashville starter Daniel Gossett deep to center field for his fourth home run of the season. Then in his final plate appearance, with OKC trailing 9-7, Bellinger launched his second home run of the game:
Bellinger’s fifth home run of the season was not enough though, as OKC lost by one run to drop to 7-7 on the season. Bellinger is near the top of the leaderboard in every major hitting category in the Pacific Coast League.
He ranks second in home runs, fourth in RBIs (14), 11th in on-base percentage (.439) and fourth in on-base plus slugging percentage (1.179).
With Adrian Gonzalez getting a bulk of the starts for the Dodgers at first base, it is unlikely that Bellinger is called up to the Majors any time soon, barring injuries, despite his recent tear.
He can also play the outfield though, which bodes well for Bellinger when he does receive the inevitable call-up this season, presumably in September at the latest.
