Dodgers Roster: Jake Lamb Needs to Be Added to the Big League Team
The Dodgers have been going a lot of odd directions in how they’ve chosen to supplement their bench. They added in Eddy Alvarez and allowed him to start far too many games in right field with Mookie Betts out. They also chose to select the contract of Stefen Romero rather than go with someone actually hitting well with Hanser Alberto out.
The Romero pick kind of makes sense since the Dodgers do expect Alberto back this week. But going with Eddy Alvarez over Jake Lamb was probably the most questionable roster move of the 2022 season. And that’s no knock on Eddy, there are just better options.
Lamb just extended his hitting streak to 14 games and drove in a run on Thursday night. The Dodgers keep stashing him away though, despite the fact that he is playing out of his mind in Triple-A. He’s also making plays like this at third base.
Jake Lamb's night so far:
-Extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
-Made this play. ? pic.twitter.com/XFEKVUzgBc
— Oklahoma City Dodgers (@okc_dodgers) June 23, 2022
Across 59 games this minor league season, Lamb has posted a .955 OPS and blasted 15 homeruns. He has also driven in 50 runs and put up a .296 batting average while the Dodgers continue to test out his defensive versatility.
They already knew he could play first and third base, but the Dodgers wanted more out of him. They’ve tested him out in leftfield, but only for 2 games so far. Lamb has spent most of his time at first base and as the designated hitter.
So for now, the only edge that Alvarez has over Lamb is that the Dodgers apparently view him as being more versatile. Still, it’s tough to let that guy just crush in the minor leagues. It’s time.
