Dodgers: Dave Roberts is Not Ready to Name Gavin Lux As Starter Yet
Gavin Lux has done nothing but hit since the Dodgers drafted him back in 2016. The 22-year-old phenom is ranked as Los Angeles’ number one prospect, and rightfully so. In his short time at the big league level last year, Lux made his presence known. And now, s starting job to kick off the year is right in front of him, though manager Dave Roberts isn’t ready to make that call just yet.
We still got a long way to go before we got to make that decision, but obviously, what Gavin did last year, the upside and all that stuff, he’s certainly in that conversation.
The logic and reasoning is there, Lux certainly makes sense as the starting second baseman come Opening Day. But there are plenty of potential options to take that spot, and handing Lux the keys this early isn’t an absolute necessity for the Dodgers.
Dave Roberts stopped short of saying Gavin Lux is the primary second baseman.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) February 23, 2020
And to say he has earned it would be absolutely true. Lux was at Dodger Stadium working out close to five times a week during the offseason, going home to Wisconsin only for holidays and birthdays. His work ethic has certainly stood out, so much so that the veterans of the team are starting to notice.
It’s clear that Lux is more than ready to take on the Hollywood Lifestyle.
You don’t want to go back. You want to stay here. You want to be a part of what’s going on. For me, it was easy.
If anyone has earned the right to be at the big league level, it’s Gavin Lux. He has hit exceptionally at every level of the game, and the only place for him to grow is facing big-league pitching. Lux slashed .240/.305/.400 with a couple of homeruns in 23 games with the Dodgers last year.
Lux is in the starting lineup for Friday’s game against the Brewers.
I’m glad to see that Lux is not preordained through some royal baseball bloodline to be a starter. What he did in the minors is ancient history. His meager 240 BA and 305 OBA at the MLB level, should not guarantee him, or anyone else is baseball, a starting job. You have to earn it. Nice to see he’s putting in the work though.
Yet the geniuses had him starting in the big October games with a month and a half of mlb experience perhaps that was the time to be using your sense instead of now but then again the Dodgers aren’t only a regular season dynasty for nothing
One of the options for last October would have been to let David Freese, who has big time October experience, be used as a starter at 1st, and in that case Muncy could have more than adequately handled 2nd base.
they just kept running out the same struggling hitters it was frustrating. There was one game where they didn’t and they won 10-4 I believe. I never liked the way they used Freese he only faced lefties and if a right hander came in he was out of the game even if it was the 4th inning
And game 3 of nlds 3 veterans showed up then on game 4 they weren’t even in the lineup. SMH. Lux had no business being in the postseason lineup with him being brought up in Sept. I really enjoyed the rookies in 2019 until Lux came up and it ruined everything for me. I’m over these rookies and now I even want Barnes back the main catcher.
Don, that’s one reason why they struggle offensively in October, doing those things , such as with Freese as ya pointed out.
Frankly Lux hasn’t shown that he deserves to be the starting 2nd baseman. He might at some point, Truck stops and high school coaching ranks are filled with “can’t miss” prospects.
Dave Roberts this and Dave Roberts that. Geez! Let’s move away from Dave Roberts and get some input from the players and coaches.
The Dodgers are stacked with superstar players both starting and backup. Then there’s second base and Gavin Lux, the odd man out. I, to this day can’t understand what Roberts and the Dodgers organization see in him. Maybe and hopefully Lux will prove to be great but we’ll have to wait and see I guess.
Same – don’t know what they see in him.
Dodgers must see something in Lux to keep him out of all those trade options. It might also be that other teams do see something of promise in him, because about every team Dodgers talk trades with, they all ask for Lux in any deal.
Paul, I agree with you and JSA above : I, too, am puzzled by the high regard Lux is held. by the Blue. IMHO, he is nothing more than mediocre with average hitting and fielding skills. To award him a starting position at this stage of camp is silly. The player who has wowed me is Mc Kinstry, a left-handed batter I believe. It will be interesting to see how the team handles this situation. Go Blue!!!
I mean he batted .392 in AAA and is also the #2 prospect in all of baseball…
I’d have been concerned if Gavin Lux had NOT been working his tail off at Dodger Stadium during the off-season. He is owed nothing, other than an opportunity to throw his hat in the ring. Personally, I’d rather see a solid vet get the job at second base, a guy such as Kiké Hernandez or Max Muncy. That doesn’t mean Lux should be shipped back to OKC for “seasoning.” He has shown what he can do at that level, but needs to see the game from the bench, and be ready to step up and perform when called upon. Especially in high-leverage crunch time situations. The Dodgers should be concerned with one thing: playing for a title…every day.