Dodgers’ James Outman Wins Player of the Week in Triple-A
James Outman is off to an impressive start in Triple-A this season. The center fielder was recognized as the PCL Player of the Week on Monday, per the Oklahoma City Comets on X.
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Outman averaged .462 while recording 12 hits, two home runs, five RBIs, and 21 total bases through the week. Overall this season, Outman is slashing .245/.314/.491 and has hit six home runs and 19 RBIs across 26 games.
This is the second PCL Player of the Week honor Outman has earned in his career. He was recognized with the honor on Aug. 28, 2022 with the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Outman won two more Player of the Week awards in the Pioneer League in 2018 and the Texas League in 2021.
The Los Angeles Dodgers did not include Outman on their domestic Opening Day roster this season. Instead, center fielder Andy Pages has taken the starting role in the position for the Dodgers.
But Outman has become a regular for the Dodgers to call up from the minor leagues.
Outman spent the most time in the Major Leagues in 2023 when he played in 151 games with the Dodgers. The two-time NL Rookie of the Month slashed .248/.353/.437 and logged 23 home runs and 70 RBIs that year.
The 27-year-old made 53 appearances with Los Angeles last season, but saw a decrease in his offensive production, slashing .147/.256/.265.
Outman made three postseason appearances with Los Angeles in 2023. But the Dodgers decided to leave Outman off of their postseason rosters throughout their World Series run in 2024.
MLB insider Bob Nightengale told Dodgers Nation Doug McKain that Outman is a potential trade option for the Dodgers this season. Nightengale said Outman may need a change of scenery to have a chance to gain more MLB experience, and the Chicago White Sox are reportedly interested.
Whether Outman stays with Los Angeles or starts a new chapter of his career with a different franchise, his recent performances suggest a bright future for the outfielder.
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Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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If Outman has any trade value at all, that is good. He is the organization in case of injuries to outfielders, but Hye-song Kim and Alex Freeland should come up before he does, with Edman playing CF and Pages moving to a corner, if there are injuries or if they finally tire of Conforto hitting into double plays whenever he has the opportunity to do so. At this point, there are a few players who would be better to have in the lineup than Conforto: Kike Hernandez, Miguel Rojas, Chris Taylor, Hye-song Kim, Alex Freeland, Dalton Rushing. Every one of them would be better offensively than Conforto, and, except for Dalton Rushing, all would improve the defense, however they are moved around, rather than having Conforto on defense. They are on pace to win 110 games [after a 5-game winning streak at home against weak opposition] yet they seem disappointing. And even with Gonsolin, they only have 4 starting pitchers right now: Yamamoto, Sasaki, Dustin May, Gonsolin. It is time to get Ohtani ready to pitch.
Those stats for Outman are gaudy after the past while but major Outman stats were not shown: strikeouts and walks The batting average would indicate improvement but until Outman learns to take more pitches and strike out half as much as previous experience has taught, I believe any talk of good things is just the organization hyping his recent success to be traded for a permanent centerfielder. That is what his value to the Dodgers is right now…