Dodgers: Which Surprise Players Are Legit

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had great success in the 2017 season, due in great part to tremendous performances from surprise players. Several players were not expected to contribute much this season but now find themselves in a vital position on the team. So which of these guys will last and which ones are just on a hot streak? This is boom or bust Dodgers edition.

At the beginning of Spring Training, I don’t think anyone in the Dodgers organization would have expected Chris Taylor to play a big role in the 2017 season. They might not have expected him to make the big league roster at all, let alone contribute on a daily basis. But Taylor has done that, and he has been a pleasant(and cheap) surprise for the club.

Cody Bellinger is another guy that no one really expected to thrive this early. The entire league knows about him and his potential, but his debut wasn’t supposed to come until the September roster expansion. But injuries happen, and a multitude of injuries to position players paved the way for the very versatile Bellinger. Since then, he has been nothing short of a star.

But those are not the only two pleasant surprises this season. Dodger veterans are also stepping it up in a big way, specifically on the pitching staff. When the Dodgers signed Brandon McCarthy, they knew they were taking a risk. A calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless. Injuries set back McCarthy for the first two seasons, but he has been great this year. Pedro Baez has been historically unreliable late in close games, but he’s out to prove himself to the Dodger faithful in 2017.

So can all of these guys last? Will these streaks run the team up to a World Series title? And if not, who is the most likely to be a bust? Let’s break it down by the numbers and analyze the boom or busts of the surprise contributors.