Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger already a fixture in Major League Baseball
It’s simple probability that not every player who puts on an Ogden Raptors uniform will play for the Los Angeles Dodgers — but players like Joc Pederson, Jose De Leon and now Cody Bellinger show that plenty do get a call to the big leagues.
In Bellinger’s case, not only has he secured a spot in the Dodgers’ every day lineup, he’s breaking records while he’s at it.
Bellinger, who hit .328 with 34 RBIs in 46 games as a Raptor in 2014, made his major league debut April 25 in San Francisco. It took a few games, but on April 29, he hit his first (and second) career home runs in a win over Philadelphia.
Less than two months later, he’s socked a total of 21 home runs, including five multi-homer games. His 21 round-trippers in 51 games are a new Major League Baseball record for home runs to start a career (previously 20 in 51 games by Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez).
STEPHEN SMITH/Special to the Standard Examiner
With two home runs in Monday’s win over the New York Mets, he became the first Dodgers rookie to hit 10 home runs in a month — with 11 games left in June. He also has 47 RBIs in those 51 games.
His start led Bleacher Report to write “Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger already 1 of MLB’s most lethal sluggers.”
Bellinger’s high marks in homers, RBIs and strikeouts (65) led SB Nation to write “Cody Bellinger is modern baseball, and that’s not a bad thing.”
His torrid pace might not be sustainable for a full season, but it already seems clear that the 21-year-old Bellinger is already a fixture in Major League Baseball.
Contact Brett Hein at bhein@standard.net, follow him on Twitter @bhein3 and find him at facebook.com/brettheinwrites.