Dodgers: The Dodger Offense has Yet to Hit Its Peak

The Dodgers surprised many at the trade deadline when they decide to bulk up on offense rather than shore up the holes in the bullpen.  Despite bulking up offensively, the offense has yet to hit its peak.

The Dodgers lineup has no shortage of big name players in their everyday lineup.  Even before any trades were made the Dodgers had Matt Kemp, Justin Turner, Yasiel Puig, and Cody Bellinger among others.  The additions of Manny Machado and Brian Dozier pushed the Dodger lineup to another level at least name wise.

Despite the additions of two known sluggers in Machado and Dozier, the Dodger offense has yet to put it all together.  Despite scoring 20 runs in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Dodgers’ offense has underwhelmed in the second half even after picking up two sluggers.

Manny Machado, in particular, has not driven in a run in his last eleven games and has been sitting on two home runs as a Dodger for a while now.  Machado has had no problem getting on base or recording base hits, but most of his base hits seem to have come with the bases empty.  Once Machado starts driving in runs, the Dodger offense will truly be one to fear.

Another aspect of the Dodgers second-half offensive struggles have the regressions of Matt Kemp and Max Muncy.  Muncy had gone without a home run for two weeks and starting to press at the plate swinging at pitches he would normally lay off of.  After homering on Thursday and Friday, Muncy is showing signs of coming out of his slump.

Matt Kemp has been one of the worst Dodgers in the second half of the season hitting below .200 with an OPS of .572.  While most expected a regression after Kemp’s torrid start, not many expected him to struggle this bad in the second half.

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In the past fifteen games, Kemp is hitting just .065 with no home runs.  If Kemp can snap his funk like Max Muncy did, then the offense will be one step closer to its optimum level.  Should Kemp’s struggles continue for a couple more weeks, the Dodgers may remove him from being the usual starter in left field against lefties.

The good news for the Dodger offense besides Muncy’s series in Colorado is that Cody Bellinger is swinging a hot stick.  Bellinger is hitting over .450 in the last week and has raised his batting average up to .250.  Even though he hasn’t been hitting as many home runs, Bellinger is starting to record more hits using all parts of the field.

Justin Turner has also looked a lot like Justin Turner since his return from the disabled list.  Last season Justin Turner was the one hitter who never seemed to go into a slump so the Dodgers could greatly use Turner’s consistency since they have a lineup full of streaky hitters.

The Dodgers’ offense has shown flashes of being the explosive offense they should be with a lineup full of big names but they have yet to put together some consistency.  Once Manny Machado starts blasting bombs and Matt Kemp breaks out of his second-half struggles, the Dodgers offense will hit its peak level.