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.

3. Craig Kimbrel

With Kenley Jansen leaving in the offseason for the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers had a hole to fill at the closer position. Right before the 2022 season began, the team decided to fill that hole by trading AJ Pollock to the Chicago White Sox for Craig Kimbrel.

Just for transparency’s sake, I hated the trade when it happened and every time I see Kimbrel allow a run I hate it even more. Kimbrel is past his prime and overpaid, and it’s always great to have outfield depth. I bet the Dodgers wish they had Pollock instead of Trayce Thompson or Zach McKinstry right now, don’t you?

It would at least be better if Kimbrel was having a halfway decent season, but that hasn’t been the case. Manager Dave Roberts’ faith in Kimbrel is already being tested as the veteran closer has a 4.35 ERA this season.

Reliever’s ERAs can balloon quickly, but this is not the case of one really bad outing for Kimbrel — it’s consistent mediocrity. Kimbrel has blown three saves and lost another two games from allowing runs in the ninth when the game was tied.

He has allowed a run in 12 of his 33 appearances this season, meaning there’s a 36% chance that he will allow a run whenever he takes the mound. Those odds are simply far too high for a closer.

There have been nights where Kimbrel looks like a valuable MLB closer, and the Dodgers need to see a lot more of that in the second half. If not, there’s no way he can pitch during high-leverage moments in the playoffs.