Can JT Spark The Dodgers?

The Dodgers’ criminally underrated third baseman has gotten off to a painfully slow start this season, but his last few games have me wondering if he can spark the dormant offense.

As Dodger fans like to very loudly complain every chance they get, the offense sucks. They take good pitches, swing at bad pitches, and just plain can’t hit. Needless to say, that’s not a recipe to score a lot of runs.

Unsurprisingly, the Dodgers haven’t. They rank ninth in the NL and eighteenth in all of baseball in runs scored. That’s just not going to cut it for the team with the highest payroll in baseball.

A big part of the Dodgers’ offense in 2014 and 15 was Justin Turner, and he was expected to contribute this year as well. Like many other things this season, that hasn’t gone according to plan.

After hitting .294/.370/.491 with 16 homers last year, it wasn’t crazy to think of him as the Dodgers’ best offensive player going into this season. That’s why it’s been such a huge blow to the offense that he hasn’t gotten it going in 2016.

So far this season, he’s only hit a not so hot .231/.323/.371 with 6 home runs. That triple slash leaves a lot to be desired, but I have good news and better news for you.

The good news is that his slash line has been creeping up in the last week. The better news is that in that same week, he’s hit 3 of his 6 homers.

So he’s hitting the ball hard and driving in runs, but can it ignite the disappointing offense? The answer isn’t a simple yes or no, it’s that it has to.

As of right now, the offense is the biggest weakness the Dodgers have. If things continue the way they are, the Dodgers won’t make the playoffs and the lack of offense will be the biggest reason why.

Looking at the next few months, the Dodgers have no premier offensive prospects ready to make an impact, and Andre Ethier isn’t close to making his return from a broken shin. Yasiel Puig is getting close to coming back from his hamstring strain, but him hitting well is no guarantee.  Barring a trade, the offense is going to live and die by someone on the roster right now.

Next: The Case for Trading Yasiel Puig

That means somebody is going to have to step up. Who better to do that than the guy hitting in the most important spot in the lineup?