Can Corey Seager play like an MVP in October?

Corey Seager has been great for Los Angeles this season, but the tides could turn in October if he doesn’t keep it up.

October is here, and the Los Angeles Dodgers want to go deep into the month.

In past seasons, the Dodgers haven’t had a ton of success doing this, even with the great Clayton Kershaw leading the way.

In his press conference Thursday, however, Kershaw, the NLDS Game 1 starter, made it very clear this year was different for him. 

“It’s really kind of hit home for me a little bit,” Kershaw said, “that I can definitely be a part of this and definitely help and definitely be a factor in winning. But I don’t have to be THE factor.”

Kershaw is well aware of the powerhouse lineup supporting him. He knows that key contributions can be made from just about anyone including veterans like Chase Utley and depth players like Charlie Culberson.

But most of all, Kershaw knows that his team has superstars with the likes of rookie Corey Seager.

Seager, the undisputed NL ROY frontrunner, was also the team’s legitimate MVP candidate of the regular season. He earned that status by being the Dodger’s most offensively consistent player all season, especially after April.

It was because of games like Vin Scully’s last home game where the shortstop went 3-for-5 with a game-saving home run that have lead many to point to him as one of the postseason MVP candidates for the Dodgers.

However, there a big elephant in the room people may or may not be talking about and that’s Corey Seager’s recent slump.

It’s not a particularly nasty slump and maybe not even one that many have realized.

But the last few weeks for Seager have been hard to ignore for anyone who pays close attention to numbers – and awfully reminiscent of last year.

For those who don’t remember, Seager’s postseason debut last year was rather disappointing.

The then 21-year-old hit only .188  in the 5-game series against the New York Mets compared to the .337 he was hitting in the weeks leading up to October.

It was attributed by most to Seager still getting accustomed to the major leagues and the postseason intensity he was suddenly thrust into.

Seeing it happen again begs the question whether Seager isn’t a hot end-of-year hitter.

In the month of August of this year, Seager’s slashline was .330/.411/.532. The following month, his slashline dipped down to .295/.339/.448.

Those are still pretty good numbers, but not Seager numbers.

In his last 10 plate appearances, Seager went 1-for-10, going hit-less in his last two games. 

Of course, we have to take into account that these last two games were against left-handed pitchers and it would be unfair to single him out when the Dodgers had the worst collective numbers in the league against them this season.

But Seager has already shown he isn’t like his teammates and at worst his continued slump could be a catalyst for another early October exit for the Dodgers.

Much like Clayton Kershaw, however, Corey Seager shows outstanding awareness of the game.

He of all people knows that he has to pick himself up to lead the team as he did throughout the regular season if the Dodgers want to play more baseball.

Yet also like Kershaw, he has to know he can’t be considered “THE” factor, only “a” factor in this postseason run, despite what many around him believe.

Seager’s first test in the postseason will be against Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer for Game 1 on Friday.

Scherzer being a right-handed pitcher, Seager has a good shot at having a successful game against him – something that could prove pivotal in setting the tone for the rest of the series. 

The Dodgers, then, might see a way to the NLCS for the first time in three years.