5 Dodgers who desperately need a wake-up call after the All-Star Break

The Los Angeles Dodgers head into the break red-hot as they have the best record in the National League and only trail the New York Yankees by three games for the best record in baseball. Los Angeles has a comfortable 10-game lead in the division and a six-game lead for a top-two spot as well as a first-round bye in the playoffs.

While the team success has been there, the individual success has not been there for every player. There are certainly candidates to win awards this season but there are also players who desperately needed the All-Star Break to refuel and take a breather because their first-half performance was downright unacceptable.

The second half can hopefully represent turning a new page for several Dodgers who need to quickly get one track and start producing.

These 5 Dodgers need a wake-up call after the All-Star Break

5. Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger has had one of the most interesting young careers in baseball … history? Bellinger burst onto the scene with a record-setting debut season that won him the National League Rookie of the Year award. He took a step back the following year (but was still good), and then had one of the best starts in modern MLB history in 2019.

That red-hot start propelled Bellinger to an insane season that netted him the NL MVP award. His MVP campaign is one of just 19 seasons in league history in which a player slugged 45 or more home runs, stole 15 or more bases, and did so with a .300 batting average or better.

Then there was the wonky 2020 season in which he still came up clutch in the playoffs, a horrible injury-ridden season in 2021, and a slightly better (but still bad) healthy season in 2022. Bellinger is currently slashing .202/.270/.377 and has struck out 98 times — the same number of times as Joey Gallo, which is ironic, as the two have nearly identical numbers this season.

Bellinger is still an elite defensive player that will be in the running for the Gold Glove this season, but he simply hasn’t been able to hit. The 2019 MVP has devolved into Jason Heyward and that needs to change if he wants to remain in LA.

4. Max Muncy

Max Muncy suffered the worst kind of freak injury that a first baseman possibly could on the last day of the 2021 season. Muncy reached out to field a throw when Brewers infielder Jace Peterson inadvertently crashed into his left arm, tearing Muncy’s UCL.

Muncy made a quick recovery and was ready for the start of the 2022 season, but started off ice cold. The former All-Star had a quick stint on the IL and later admitted that he regretted rushing back from his UCL injury.

This season has been Muncy’s worst since joining the Dodgers, as he’s slashing .160/.316/.315 with only nine home runs and 30 RBI. The lack of power is the most concerning thing for Muncy right now as his slugging percentage has dropped 200 points from last season.

The most intriguing thing about Muncy thus far is that the walk artist is actually walking more than he ever has in his career. Muncy’s walk rate is 18.5% this season, which is 4.5% higher than it was last year.

His strikeout rate isn’t far from the norm, either. While it’s higher than last season, Muncy’s 24.2% strikeout rate is only 0.3% higher than his career average.

It really is the lack of power for Muncy, and that can be directly tied to his arm injury from last season. Hopefully, the time off can help him get in a good mindset and allow him to flip his season in the second half.

Dodgers that will lose a roster spot if they don’t wake up

This group of players does not include those who are only on the roster right now because of injuries. We all know that the likes of McKinstry and Thompson are not long-term roster solutions and are just depth options for the time being.

These are players who were meant to be staples of the 26-man roster this season that should get demoted if they do not figure it out fast.

2. Phil Bickford

Bickford has not been able to follow up his breakout 2021 season with anything remotely successful in 2022. While Bickford started the season on a great note, it has gone extremely downhill since then. Bickford is sporting a 5.04 ERA on the season and has allowed a run in 10 of his last 17 outings. That just isn’t good enough.

Reinforcements are on the way with players getting healthy as well as the Dodgers potentially adding relievers at the trade deadline. If Bickford can’t rediscover his 2021 form, he’s going to be one of the first players to get demoted.

1. Hanser Alberto

Alberto was brought in to be the Dodgers’ right-handed bench bat this season and he’s been nothing short of bad (though his energy and clubhouse presence is notable). Aside from two scoreless relief outings and a game-winning hit against the St. Louis Cardinals, Alberto has not done much of anything for the Dodgers this season.

He has a below-average .600 OPS and 64 OPS+, meaning that he’s 36% below league-average as a hitter. And keep in mind that Alberto is only hitting in matchups that directly favor him. There are no excuses for his numbers to be this bad when he’s being put in situations to succeed.

If Alberto doesn’t start torching southpaws soon, then the Dodgers are going to look to replace him with someone who does.

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