Dodgers: Outfield Grades for the Month of August

While August may not have been as kind to the Dodgers as July was, the team as a whole was still outstanding.

One of the bright spots of the Dodgers has been the outfield and its production. The players picked it up, but, with all the production comes uncertainty as October looms closer.

There is a plethora of players manager Dave Roberts will have to choose from, which will lead to tough cuts of some players.

However, this internal competition will hopefully result in motivating and pushing each player to each of their highest capability.

Without further ado, let’s check out how the outfielders did in August.

Here we are again, stuck in the “is Joc Pederson broken” dilemma. The 25-year-old went the complete opposite way of Puig in August and ended up finding himself in Oklahoma City where he still is struggling to find himself.

Pederson came into August looking to improve on what had been a very mediocre season up to that point. Things didn’t seem to change. In August, Pederson collected a total of two hits all while striking out seven times. His OBP sat at a god awful .186, and he continued to tinker with his stance and swing up at the plate.

Pederson’s last straw came on August 19^th as he was sent down to AAA in hopes of regaining his confidence and finding himself. This was not the case, as Pederson is still struggling to hit the ball as showcased by his sub-.200 average at Triple A.

Initially, I guessed that Pederson would be brought back up on September 1^st, but with his struggles and the promotion of Alex Verdugo, this might not be the case.

Pederson is a fine MLB talent who will always go through hot streaks and cold streaks. I wrote an article a few weeks back talking about his future with the club, and his future is looking bleaker and bleaker with each plate appearance.

Despite finding himself on the disabled list for a short period, “Codylove” had another impressive month in his first big league season. Would you expect anything less from the eventual NL Rookie of the Year?

Bellinger was able to muster up a formidable 19 hits and six home runs in August, and when you think of the fact that he missed ten games, it becomes just another Bellinger month.

His .292/.370/.615 slash line was consistent with the rest of his season stats, and it looks like he will be the Dodgers’ left fielder for the remainder of this season if Adrian Gonzalez can remain healthy.

Bellinger went down with a scary ankle injury in the middle of the month that looked worse than it was. Still, it was enough to land him a DL spot and didn’t help his case for MVP honors. Look for Cody to continue his historic rookie campaign in September and try and hit 40+ home runs.

The Field:

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The Dodgers acquired Granderson back on August 19^th from the Mets for cash and minor leaguer Jacob Rhame. In Granderson’s short Dodgers career, he has already hit four home runs for the team, one of which was a grand slam.

When he’s not rounding the bases, he’s getting on base somehow as he’s drawn nine walks with the Dodgers thus far.

Granderson may not give the Dodgers much production with the glove, but he will still give the team a veteran bat for the playoff run and an all around great clubhouse guy.

It’s hard to put Taylor in the “field” category, but he plays all over the field and saw time at 2^nd, 3^rd, SS, CF and LF. That’s what you call a utility man. Over the course of August, Taylor slashed .286/.370/.533 and smacked six home runs for the Dodgers.

Taylor is the glue for this team, but he doesn’t get the recognition he deserves. After stealing his 15^th base of the year, Taylor joined Matt Kemp as the first Dodgers since 2011 to steal at least 15 bases and hit at least 15 home runs. You can say it’s been a productive season.

Although Kike doesn’t get consistent starts for the team, he still gets his fair share of playing time. August wasn’t kind to Kike as he had a .152/.235/.265 slash line and hit one home run.

August was definitely his worst month of the season, and he will probably find himself with less playing time as Alex Verdugo and Curtis Granderson take at-bats away. Look for him to fight for a playoff spot this September.

Next: Hill a Playoff X-Factor

The Dodgers are 92-43 on the season, so there is little to complain about on the season. The outfield has been one of the best assets for this team and look for that to continue as we finish up the regular season.