Dodgers: The Platoon Players Must Get Hot in October

Catchers

The story of who plays behind the plate has been going on for some time in the Southland. For those who don’t watch Dodger games consistently, look at the stat sheet and tell me who the starting catcher is based on the numbers. It should be Austin Barnes, but it’s not.

Barnes has done tremendously with inconsistent playing time and coming off the bench for most of the season. He’s hit .289 with eight homers in a little over 200 at-bats.

The recent trend has seen him start against left-handed pitching, which should be the case. However, with Grandal’s struggles and Barnes ability to hit right-handed pitching as well, it’s not hard to see Dave Roberts rely on Barnes more if Grandal does not produce.

The good news is, Grandal’s collected some much-needed hits in the last week. If he finds his stride, he would be a potent threat from the left side, while Barnes continues to start against left-handers.

As bad as Grandal’s been in the last two months or so, he still hit 22 home runs. He also showed a flash of how good he can be when he’s on in May.

Ironically, Grandal is a switch-hitter, but that probably serves against the Dodgers with Barnes’ production much higher from the right side.

Out of the three platoons, having these two going on all cylinders is most important because defensively, they are the only ones who can play their position.