Los Angeles Dodgers: We are over-hyping Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger has made a splash for the Los Angeles Dodgers since his arrival on April 25th. However, as fans are we merely over-hyping the slugger?

Before we start, I would like to establish that I am as hardcore of a Dodger fan as you could be. Building on that, I have been a huge fan of Bellinger for quite some time now and have been super eager on his eventual call-up to the big leagues. Now, almost two weeks after his call up, Bellinger has become the hottest commodity for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In all fairness, Bellinger has put together quite the stat line in his 11 games played. Bellinger has put together a .357/.413/.786 slash line with five home runs, 14 runs batted in, adding in a stolen base. In fact, in only 11 games Bellinger has put together 0.7 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, which makes him the 11th most productive first baseman in baseball.

That is a crazy thought, in only 11 games Bellinger has already produced more than the likes of Jose Abreu (28 games), Miguel Cabrera (20 games), and Anthony Rizzo (30 games).

To say that Bellinger has taken the Dodgers by storm is an understatement. With his ninth-inning grand slam last night against the Padres, Bellinger became the first Dodger ever to fit five home runs in their first eleven games. Heck, Yasiel Puig did not even do that in 2013 and we all know the kind of impact he had on the struggling Dodgers that season.

We have already established that Bellinger is the same sort of spark that Puig was in 2013, and this should prevent any sort of minors stint this season. However, while he has been great, as fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers we are prone to over-hyping the slugger.

I have seen Dodger fans already stating that Bellinger is the Rookie of the Year. Yes, the NL is not filled with many star-studded rookies. With the likes of Mitch Haniger, Aaron Judge, and Andrew Benintendi all in the AL, there is no big stand out for the Rookie of the Year in the NL.

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However, making this statement after only 11 games is pretty absurd. Let’s just turn our focus back to the 2015 season. After Joc Pederson’s first half of the season, which resulted in 20 home runs, many expected him to win the Rookie of the Year over Kris Bryant. However, Pederson finished the second half with only six home runs, batting .178 in the process.

Pederson ended up finishing sixth in Rookie of the Year voting, with one lone third place vote. Bellinger is not at all the same type of player as Pederson, but history shows that we may get too ahead of ourselves.

Bellinger has made clutch hits, like his May 2nd triple against the Giants that scored three runs, or contributing to the back-to-back-to-back home runs against the Phillies. However, in his last two games, Bellinger has hit three home runs and drove in nine.

If we are being honest, two of those home runs and seven of those runs batted in came when the came was essentially out of the Padres reach.

As a Dodger fan I do not want to bash Bellinger, but when fans see these insane numbers they can become quite far-sighted. I think we should slow down on this Cody Bellinger hype train, and take this 2017 season day-to-day.

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I want Bellinger to succeed, I really. What kind of fan would want a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers to fail? However, as fans, I think it is our responsibility to keep ourselves at bay for the time being. Chances are Bellinger will eventually come down to Earth. However, for the sake of our season, let’s hope that I am wrong.

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