Does Miguel Vargas deserve a chance as other Dodgers continue to slump?
![Los Angeles Dodgers v Kiwoom Heroes](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4795,h_2697,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/75/01hwqz3grjpqedg313pv.jpg)
The Dodgers ended three weeks of pretty abysmal play with six straight wins, including a three-game sweep of the Nationals and taking two of three from the Blue Jays on the road. It was good to see LA finally put a stop to a skid that had already gone much too far, but some problems still persisted.
The three primary hitters at the bottom of the Dodgers lineup — James Outman, Chris Taylor, and Gavin Lux — have still hit .160 over their last seven games, while their bench counterparts — Kiké Hernández, Andy Pages, and Miguel Rojas — are making them look like chumps, with a .319 batting average over the last seven games.
Hernández is just starting to heat up, Pages' stay in the majors unfortunately seems contingent on Jason Heyward's absence (an absence that does seem to keep getting longer and longer), and the Dodgers have a lot riding on Outman, Taylor and Lux. But, if the Dodgers had to make some tough decisions that would involve making one or more of their bench players everyday guys and calling up alternatives to replace them, might they consider Miguel Vargas?
The game was tied entering the inning and after one pitch it was not.
— Oklahoma City Baseball Club (@okc_baseball) April 28, 2024
Miguel Vargas goes deep for a second consecutive game! pic.twitter.com/T7elfZZjtY
Miguel Vargas crushing it in the minors should have Dodgers rethinking his Triple-A status
Vargas probably would've made the Opening Day roster if it hadn't been for Hernández's re-signing, which kicked Vargas out of the last bench spot and sent him down to Triple-A to start the season. It wasn't a bad decision on the Dodgers' part; Vargas never really caught fire through 81 games in the majors last season, and LA either re-signed or retained some tried and true veterans for the bench during the offseason.
However, he's been absolutely tearing it up in Triple-A, with a .312 batting average, a one-dot OPS, 10 extra base hits, six home runs (one that traveled 444 feet), and 25 RBI in 25 games. His last three games from April 26-28 were all multi-hit affairs (two homers), and he occupied 14 total bases.
The gap between Triple-A and the majors is vast, yes, but when you put Vargas' numbers up against Taylor's (he's still hitting .063 in 20 games), that image isn't a ringing endorsement for keeping Taylor in the majors. There's a lot more money attached to him than there is to Vargas, but the Dodgers also can't really afford one of their everyday players failing to get an extra-base hit in 20 games.
manual