When the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the bulk of their non-roster invitees to 2016 Spring Training, much of the focus was on pitching prospects Jose De Leon and Julio Urias as both are on the doorstep of making an impact in the Majors.
However, the initial group of 20 invitees also included intriguing names such as, Chris Anderson, Cody Bellinger and Kyle Farmer. Bellinger was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2013 draft.
He spent that year playing in the Arizona Rookie League, then was with Rookie Level Ogden in 2014 before finishing the season by playing five games in the AZL.
Bellinger batted .328/.368/.503 with three home runs, 13 doubles and 34 RBIs in 46 games with the Raptors. He was promoted to High-A Rancho Cucamonga last season and has impressed in his first big league camp experience.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been among those to take notice of Bellinger, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“The game doesn’t speed up on him,” said manager Dave Roberts. “He looks comfortable out there. The more you see, the more you like.”
Bellinger hit .264/.336/.538 with 30 home runs, 33 doubles and 103 RBIs over 128 games with the Quakes. He led the California League in RBIs, finished second in home runs and his .873 OPS ranked eighth.
Having appeared in seven Cactus League games, making one start, Bellinger is batting .545/.615/.545. The 20 year old was ranked the sixth-best Minor-League first baseman by MLB.com in January.
