Dodgers Rumors: Which players should the Dodgers call-up next?
By Jason Reed
O’Koyea Dickson – 1B, LF
2017 AAA Stats: 261 AVG, 8 HR, 26 RBI
If there is one thing the Dodgers are short on it is good right-handed bats. With Franklin Gutierrez often injured, it leaves the likes of Forsythe, Turner, Puig, Barnes, Van Slyke, Hernandez, and Taylor to bat from the right side of the dish. The only above average of those are Puig, Forsythe, Turner, and Taylor – however Turner and Forsythe have both spent their time on the DL.
The Dodgers called up slugging prospect Cody Bellinger to play the corner outfield spots and first base, however, he just adds another left-handed bat to the equation. With Van Slyke practically doing nothing for the team, the best route the Dodgers can take now is to send Van Slyke down and bring up the slugging Dickson.
The average is not the most impressive for Dickson, sitting at .261, but it is by no means bad. What makes Dickson valuable is his ability to bring runners home, evident by his eight home runs and 26 runs batted in. To put it into perspective, in exactly twice as many at-bats as Bellinger had in AAA Dickson has almost twice the production.
Therefore, it can be concluded that Bellinger and Dickson had the same production at the AAA level. Bellinger had a much higher average and did indeed contribute slightly more, but Dickson does not need to be another Bellinger. What the Dodgers need is to weed out Scott Van Slyke, and bring in a guy that can drive in runs in spot starts or off the bench.