Dodgers: Justin Turner’s red hot August paces blistering offense

We’re officially in the Dog Days of summer at Chavez Ravine, but the heat hasn’t slowed down the Dodgers one bit. In fact, the only thing hotter than the LA sun right now is Justin Turner.

JT loudly burst out of his early-season slump back on May 7 with a three-homer game against the Atlanta Braves. He hit another home run the next day, and that signaled to many Dodger fans that Turner would finally find a power stroke in 2019.

And while he wouldn’t find much more power in May after the Braves’ series (he only hit one more homer in the rest of the month of May and hit 3 total in June), the bearded third baseman has run into plenty of long balls as the summer has worn on.

After hitting just 9 home runs through the first three months of the season, Turner’s season total has quietly risen to 22 home runs. His July saw him rip 7 home runs, but while the power improved, his best quality, batting average, fell to just .241

August is where he has put it all together and just at the right time, in perfect Turner fashion. The player manning the hot corner for the Dodgers has blasted 6 home runs already in August with 10 runs and 11 RBI, and unlike July, Turner has gotten on base at his usual otherworldly clip, as he’s sporting an August triple-slash line of .350/.435/.683.

But should we have been surprised by Turner’s big August breakout?

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Not in the slightest. Ever since becoming a regular and everyday star for the Dodgers, Turner has always improved as the weather in LA has worsened. His best months in 2015 and 2016? In July of 2015, 8 doubles, 2 homers, and a .343 average.  In July of 2016, 7 home runs, 39 runs, 21 RBI’s and a .313 average.

In 2017, he turned the power on in August with 6 homers and 6 doubles and kept it going through September, October and the playoffs. And most helpful to my “Summer of Turner” narrative? In August 2018, Turner not only hit 6 more home runs but had a combined 42 runs plus RBI’s and hit .402!

He really is hottest when the weather is, which is perfect for the Dodgers, because, in 2019, so are they. Turner’s not-so-surprising August has been replicated by three other Dodgers, as four Dodger hitters have six or more home runs this month (Will Smith and Max Muncy have 7 while Cody Bellinger’s tally is already up to 8). Beyond just the power, all four of these hitters have walk rates over 10% and Smith and Turner are both hitting well over .300.

So as August continues to cook cracked eggs on LA sidewalks, Turner and the rest of the middle of the Dodger order will look to continue to do the same, no matter where they play.