Pages ranks third in batting average and RBI, seventh in OPS among all qualified NL outfielders this season.
Five Dodgers will head out to Atlanta after the team’s weekend series against the San Francisco Giants. Those five names do not include Andy Pages, despite his numbers telling a different story.
After a miserable start to the season over his first 20 games, Pages had slashed .326/.348/.559 with 15 home runs, 53 RBI, and a 150 wRC+ over his last 66 games entering Sunday. Since April 22, Pages is at the top of the leaderboard in batting average, third in wRC+, fifth in home runs, and third in fWAR among all National League outfielders.
Still, Pages couldn’t beat out fellow outfielders James Wood, Kyle Stowers, and Fernando Tatis Jr.— the latter is carrying a 96 wRC+ since April 22— for the reserve outfield spots on the National League All-Star team. Chad Jennings and Sam Blum of The Athletic lists Pages, alongside fellow NL outfielders Juan Soto and Seiya Suzuki, as the biggest outfield snubs for the NL All-Star team.
It doesn’t seem too shocking to see Pages snubbed when gandering at the American League outfield reserves, as Julio Rodriguez (.695 OPS) beat out George Springer (.886 OPS, second among AL outfielders) for one of the reserve outfield spots.
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Emmet Sheehan played a vital role in keeping Sunday’s contest close before the Dodger bullpen let the game slip through their hands.
Sheehan was able to record five solid innings of one-run ball against a swing happy Astros team that was consistently aggressive against him early in the count. Sheehan is making a case for himself to earn a spot in the Dodgers’ rotation, but his playing time at the big league level could shrink with the eventual returns of Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell, per Doug Padilla of the Orange County Register.
“With Blake Snell and Glasnow down, some guys are getting an opportunity and making the most of it. … As guys come back to health, we have some tough decisions to make but that is obviously a good problem to have.”
Through his first four starts, Shohei Ohtani has already done his part in making the Dodgers rotation a formidable unit. He’s tossed just six innings so far, but he’s only allowed one run (none since recording his first out as a Dodger) while striking out six and walking just one.
Cary Osborne of Dodger Insider details the 18-month period between Ohtani signing with the Dodgers and him making his pitching debut, with the top priority on Ohtani’s mind being a stellar arm on the mound despite his success at the plate.
Old friend find new home
Former Dodgers reliever Luis García has agreed to a Major League deal with the Washington Nationals pending a physical, per Andrew Golden of the Washington Post.
García appeared in 28 games for the Dodgers, posting a 5.27 ERA across 27 1⁄3 innings before being designated for assignment and released on Friday. This will mark García’s eighth team over his big league career.