Andy Pages joined the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-April, less than a year removed from undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.
The Dodgers rookie made some waves in Spring Training, and has since continued that momentum on the big league roster. Batting .300/.327/.520 through 50 at-bats with two home runs, five doubles and eight RBI, Pages is earning his spot.
Pages made his first start on April 16 at home against the Washington Nationals, smacking a single in his first plate appearance. The Dodgers have gone 8-5 since his call-up as he’s been a plus-addition to the lineup, per Michael Reynolds of MLB.com:
“For a young player to come in and make an impact like that, it’s been great,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of talk about the bottom part of this order, but each one of those guys have gotten a little bit better and Andy has certainly been a big part of that.”
The Dodgers coaching staff has made it known that they’ve been impressed with him thus far, with manager Dave Roberts making it clear that Pages is on track to get a lot of run in his first Major League stint.
Pages has cut down on his strikeouts by a wide margin during the current road trip, making the most of his at-bats:
“At the plate, he hunts pitches, he understands sequencing, he can hit to all fields,” Roberts said. “These are things he does that veterans don’t do or aren’t willing to do or adjustments they’re not willing to make. So for a young ballplayer, it’s really impressive.”
His three RBI night on Monday was the second time in eight games that Pages has done so.
Pages being productive with the Dodgers solves a big need for them in Jason Heyward’s absence, providing them with stability at another outfield slot alongside Teoscar Hernández.
Andy Pages sticking around with Dodgers
While the promotion for Pages may have been intended to be shorter until Jason Heyward returns, the veteran seemingly has a long way to go before he returns. Pages has also outperformed many of the veteran outfielders on the Dodgers roster by a wide margin, making it tough for the club to send him down at any point.
Due to his talent and production, Andy Pages is here to stay.
