by Megan Garcia
Andy Pages figured a lot out in 2024.
It was a season of recovery. It was a rookie season of learning and adapting. And it was a season where he was one of the top threats in the Major Leagues against left-handed pitching.
Now, he’s a potential threat for the Dodgers in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series.
The rookie jumps into the lineup, batting seventh and starting in center field against veteran left-handed starting pitcher José Quintana.
Pages’ .357 batting average against southpaws ranked sixth-best among Major League hitters (100 plate appearance minimum). He was the only rookie to be ranked as a top 10 hitter against left-handers.
Pages batted .243 (44-for-181) against lefties in his first three years in the Minor Leagues from 2018 to 2021. He reached a turning point in 2022.
Pages clubbed 13 home runs and slashed .316/.412/.735/1.147 in 136 plate appearances games versus left-handed pitching with Double-A Tulsa. He attributes his success at the plate to his approach.
“I tended to throw my body across home plate since the pitcher was coming from a different side, and I would get jammed a lot inside,” Pages said. “I had to change my approach because I kept thinking they would throw to me outside, and I would swing out of the zone. I had to start thinking differently and let them come to me.”
Pages hit .455 on pitches in the strike zone from left-handers during the regular season.
He has appeared in five games in the postseason and earned his first start in Game 1 of the NLCS against Mets left-hander Sean Manaea. Pages was 0-for-2 against the lefty with the unusual arm slot. He had a single in the game against right-handed Mets closer Edwin Díaz.
But his track record this season and perseverance has given the Dodgers the trust to give the rookie an opportunity on the big stage of the NLCS again.
Pages had success at the bookends of his rookie regular season.
He was the Dodgers №7 prospect heading into the 2024 season after missing most of the 2023 Minor League season with a torn labrum. He earned his call-up to the big leagues on April 16 and was penciled into the starting lineup against the Washington Nationals. His first career hit came in on the first pitch in his first at-bat against lefty starter Patrick Corbin.
Pages batted .300 with an .847 OPS in 13 April starts. But his success stalled in the subsequent months as teams adjusted to the 23-year-old.
The Dodgers optioned Pages to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 19 when Max Muncy (right oblique strain) and Tommy Edman (wrist surgery and ankle sprain) returned from the injured list. Between May 1-Aug. 17, Pages hit .237 with a .668 OPS.
“I know a lot of players who lost their confidence when they struggled,” Pages said. “That was something that I was aware of. I was worried that I’d feel bad about myself, but it was the opposite. I took what happened and moved forward and got better.”
Pages was back with the Dodgers when rosters expanded. He finished the regular season hitting .286/.355/.643/.998 in his last 10 games with three home runs and 10 RBI.
He was 6-for-12 vs. left-handers in September. Manaea was the only lefty he has faced this postseason.
Now he gets another Met lefty. And a big opportunity.
NLCS: Andy Pages gets another shot at a lefty was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.