Dodgers: Five Early Season Overreactions

April 14, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22), pitching coach Rick Honeycutt (40) and manager Dave Roberts (30) celebrate the 7-1 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
April 14, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22), pitching coach Rick Honeycutt (40) and manager Dave Roberts (30) celebrate the 7-1 victory against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
7 of 7
Next
dodgers
Apr 15, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig watches as his ball lands in the bullpen on a 3 run home run in the eighth inning of the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers won 8-4. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Yasiel Puig Will Win MVP

Why not end on a positive overreaction?

Puig is the only Dodger to start every game this season and has done so in impressive fashion. Puig has a slash line of .304/.414/.630 and leads the team in home runs (4) and RBI (11). Puig is doing a bit of everything for the Dodgers, leading the team in walk percentage (17.2%) and stolen bases (2).

More from Dodgers Way

The other Dodger who has been as productive as Puig has been Justin Turner. The issue here with Puig is that he too has struggled against lefties. How ironic is it that the biggest solutions to the biggest problem is under producing, yet still having a good start.

Puig is hitting .105 in 19 at-bats against left-handers. In my opinion part of the reason Puig is struggling against lefties is because Roberts continues to move Puig into the 4 or 5 spot in the lineup. Puig seems to tense up in that spot in the order and hasn’t produced like Roberts had hoped. But regardless, it’s still nice to see Puig off to a good start.

Next: A Rich Hill Contingency Plan

Everyone loves to compare Puig to his 2013 breakout season when he hit .436, 7 home runs and 16 RBI in 101 plate appearances. Well, this season Puig is hitting .444, 4 home runs, and 10 RBI in 27 at-bats against right-handed pitching. Suddenly the 2013 hot start Puig started his career with doesn’t seem too farfetched.