Following the tradition of baseball’s top franchise when it coms to rookie production, Andy Pages had a big role as a lefty killer in his first year in the big leagues
For the second year in a row, the Dodgers‘ primary center fielder ended up being a rookie who didn’t start the year as the top option on the depth chart. Much like James Outman did it in 2023, Andy Pages played his way into a starting role with the big league club in a year in which other options failed to lock down the job, including Outman himself, who struggled his way into a demotion to Triple-A.
Pages was called up in the middle of April and wasted no time proving he belonged in the big leagues. The 23-year-old rookie was the first Dodger of this decade to get his first big league hit on the first pitch he saw. Pages got a single off Patrick Corbin and came around to score as part of a 6-2 Dodgers win on April 16.
Only a few days later, the first home run would come for Pages, a three-run shot that was part of an eight-run frame in an absolute rout of the Mets.
First career hit for @Dodgers No. 3 prospect Andy Pages! pic.twitter.com/M6wrtvE6kr
— MLB (@MLB) April 17, 2024
First career home run for Andy Pages! pic.twitter.com/rirFFCymZ9
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 21, 2024
This whole hitting thing came rather naturally for Pages in his first couple of weeks in the big leagues, something that might have set the expectations a bit too high for him. The rookie outfielder went 22 for 65 in his first 16 games, with four homers and 12 RBI.
The season had a lot of ups and downs for Pages with pretty drastic monthly splits as you’ll see. In March, June and August Pages had an OPS above .800, but in May and July his OPS was below .600.
Teoscar Hernández got a lot of praise as one of the hitters responsible for the Dodgers’ overall improvement against left-handed pitching. However, Pages was just as a big a part of that upgrade, with most of his production coming facing southpaws. Only Hernández had a higher OPS vs. lefties than Pages’ .917 mark over the season, until Tommy Edman cleaned up over the final six weeks and into October.
A regular fixture in the middle to the bottom of the Dodgers’ batting order, Pages was one of many who greatly benefited from Shohei Ohtani’s magnificent campaign. The Dodgers DH drove Pages in on 12 occasions, more than any other player besides Pages himself (13).
Pages who was a .267 hitter at Dodger Stadium, struggled heavily in road ballparks inside the NL West, hitting .200 or lower in Arizona, San Diego, San Francisco, and, believe it or not, even in Colorado. Now, at least in Coors Field, the slug was still there (.500), but the 5-for-26 mark was somewhat underwhelming. San Diego in particular presented major challenges for Pages, although one could attribute that partially to the quality of that staff and lack of any left-handed starters. Pages was 2-for-16 at Petco Park with no extra-base hits.
Moving ahead to the playoffs, the Dodgers had a healthier team (hitting-wise) than for much of the regular season. More players meant fewer opportunities for Pages, who was demoted to a platoon role, and asked to do what he did most well during the regular season.
As a platoon bat, Pages wouldn’t get a postseason start until the middle of the NLCS, the series in which he played the most given that the Mets had more lefty starters than the Padres and Yankees. Pages sat through the entire World Series with Freddie Freeman returning to an everyday role after missing some games against the Mets with that ankle issue.
Given what we saw from Pages in 2024, it’s very likely he’ll get a chance to play for a prominent role with the ball club in 2025.
2024 particulars
Age: 23
Stats: .248/.305/.407, 13 HR, 23 doubles, 100 wRC+, 1.3 rWAR, 1.3 fWAR
Salary: roughly $616,667 (the $740,000 minimum salary, pro-rated for his 155 days)
Game of the year
After getting only one hit starting Games 2 and 4 of the NLCS, Pages had his big evening in Game 5, and although the Dodgers still lost, he had least helped stir up some positive energy in a 12-6 defeat. Pages went 3 for 4 with a pair of home runs, driving in two-thirds of the runs scored by the Dodgers in that game. The first homer came off lefty David Peterson and the second one against the right-hander Reid Garrett,
Andy Pages hits two solo home runs and is the first Dodgers rookie with a multi home run game in the #Postseason !
pic.twitter.com/7b67GIuDIp— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) October 18, 2024
Roster status
Pages has 155 days of major league service time. He has one option year remaining, having used options in 2023 and 2024.