Washington Nationals: 5 to watch at Dodger Stadium
By Ricky Keeler
Cody Bellinger
If the last name Bellinger sounds familiar, Cody is the son of former Yankees player Clay Bellinger. He won NL Rookie of the Month in the month of May and for good reason. While his batting average was only .245, he had nine home runs and 27 RBI’s in 28 games.
Before the season began, Bellinger was one of the top prospects in all of baseball. Now, he is their starting left fielder since Andrew Toles is out for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL.
Bellinger has 12 home runs in 38 games and his home run in the 12th inning on Friday ended up sealing the win for Los Angeles. Out of his 12 home runs this year, eight of them have come in the seventh inning or later. He is .300 in those spots with 19 RBI’s (leads the team in both categories).
Without Justin Turner in the lineup, the Dodgers are relying on Bellinger’s power to be a key piece in the middle of that lineup. Dave Roberts likes to use him in different spots in the batting order. Plus, he can play both first base and left field, which is an added bonus.
If the Washington Nationals are going to have success in this series, they need to find a way to strikeout Bellinger. It’s a tough task, but keep in mind that the 21-year-old leads the Dodgers in strikeouts (52). That is three more than Corey Seager, who has played in 14 more games.
The Dodgers have a lot of good players offensively. But, Bellinger has made the biggest splash as he has adjusted to big league pitching in a big way.