Dodgers: Yasmani Grandal Quietly Having Best Month of Career

A lot has transpired for the Dodgers in the month of July. They have reclaimed the lead in their division. Manny Machado is now their third baseman. Clayton Kershaw looks like the Clayton Kershaw of old. As all of this has been going on, one player has been going about their business. Yasmani Grandal.

Over the course of his career, Grandal has become notoriously known for being a streaky hitter. When he gets hot, he gets hot. When he gets cold, well, he gets cold. In his career, Yasmani Grandal is a .242 hitter, which by no measures is horrible. It’s just that you can’t help but feel this is a guy that could hit at least .280 for an entire season. Since his rookie season, in which he only played 60 games so I’m not going to count it, Grandal has failed to hit .250 or better in a season. That looks to change this season.

As of July 28, Yasmani is hitting .260, a career-high. His on-base percentage (.358), slugging percentage (.497) and OPS (.855) are all career-high’s as well, respectively. These amazing numbers are largely due to his tremendous performance here in the month of July.

How good has Yasmani been?

Coming into Saturday’s contest, Yasmani Grandal has the highest batting average (.390) on-base percentage (.507) and OPS (1.303!!)  in all of Major League baseball. For all you advanced stats lovers out there, his wRC+ (251) is the highest in the big-leagues as well. In just four weeks, he’s raised his batting average almost 40 points, and raised his OPS by over 100. Not bad.

When the month began, Yasmani Grandal had a .227 AVG. and .736 OPS. He's now hitting .262 with an .855 OPS.

— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 27, 2018

Not only has Grandal been getting on base, he’s been hitting the long ball as well. His six home runs in July lead all catchers in the MLB. Only twice has Grandal hit more than six home runs in a month, his career high is eight, back in July of 2016.

Yasmani Grandal le puso un ? a esa pelota. #LosDodgers pic.twitter.com/bu16SZnR2n

— Los Dodgers (@LosDodgers) July 25, 2018

In nine of the last 10 games, Grandal has reached base. In 14 of the 19 games this month, he’s reached base. Due to his strong plate discipline, Grandal has slid into the No. 4 position. Yasmani has hit in every spot except leadoff and second this season, and the four hole is clearly his best. His seven home runs are more than any other spot in the lineup, as well are his 20 hits.

Although he’s having the best month of his career, this shouldn’t come as any surprise to Dodgers fans. Though he’s been streaky his whole career, hot hitting in July has been the one thing he’s always remained repetitive in. His batting average (.312) in July is higher than any other month, as well as his OPS (.981).

Analysis

After being replaced in the postseason, it’s amazing to see Yasmani bouncing back and having the career year that he’s having. With so many different storylines, Grandal has quietly flown under the radar all season, and he’s more than okay with that. Most likely he won’t sustain this kind of production the rest of the season, and us Dodgers fans aren’t expecting him to. But, if he can continue to produce quality at-bats and get on base, this Dodgers lineup will have the chance to be as deep as ever, and be in a serious position to make a deep postseason push.