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Dodgers rookie Cody Bellinger already a fixture in Major League Baseball

By Brett Hein, Standard-Examiner Staff - | Jun 20, 2017

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

In this August 2014 photo, Ogden Raptors first baseman Cody Bellinger prepares to field a ground ball. Bellinger is setting records as a rookie with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (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.

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