Dodgers News: Freddie Freeman Still Has Faith in Gavin Stone
The first few games of Gavin Stone’s big league career haven’t gone the way anyone would have hoped. It happens… baseball is a tough game at times. Even if the Dodgers send him down to Triple-A before the weekend, these last few weeks won’t be looked at as a failure. They’ll be looked at as a learning opportunity.
Not every pitcher comes up and succeeds the way Bobby Miller has, for example. Clayton Kershaw was sent back you Double-A after his first 8 MLB starts. Walker Buehler had to struggle through a terrible September in 2017 before he became the guy that started game 163 in 2018.
Veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman shared his thoughts on Gavin Stone’s early career struggles.
“It’s three games,” Freeman said recently. “We’ve all taken our lumps in this game. It’s gonna happen. So we got a lot of confidence in him.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts thinks ultimately this is going to be beneficial for the 24-year-old.
“My thought is he’s going to be better for it. I do think that looking back, this was good for him. We wouldn’t do this to a player we didn’t feel could handle it emotionally. Right now I know he’s down in the dumps, but he’ll be all right.”.
Via MLB.com
Michael Grove figures to step into Stone’s place in the starting rotation this weekend against the Yankees but that’s far from set in stone. Grove’s numbers haven’t been much better with the Dodgers so far this season with an 8.44 ERA over 4 starts. He had been pitching much better than that though before he hit the IL with a groin strain.
Fab 5 Freddie
Freddie Freeman is on a roll at the moment. He’s hit in 18 consecutive games and set a new Dodger franchise record on Monday with his 17th double in the month of May.
A little clarity. Freddie Freeman's 17 doubles this month are the most by a Dodger in any month. The Major League record for most doubles in May is 20 by Hall of Famer Paul Waner in 1932.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) May 30, 2023
He has two more games to tie or break Paul Waner’s MLB record.
After a mini slump toward the end of April and into early May, Freddie has been on fire at the plate. Since May 10th, he’s slashing .431/.506/.792 with 17 extra base hits and 20 runs batted in. Dave Roberts had this to say about Freeman before Monday’s game.
“You know what’s interesting with Freddie is that he’s just as consistent of a player on both sides of the ball, every facet that I’ve ever seen. And to be quite honest, I can’t tell he’s on a hot streak. I just feel like when he’s kind of struggling or not getting hits, it’s the same to me. I still think the at-bat quality, the quality of contact is pretty similar.”
Freddie might be the best free agent signing of Andrew Friedman’s career.
