The five Dodgers with the most to prove during 2018
By Jason Reed
Cody Bellinger
Cody Bellinger was the best thing to happen to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017. At the time of his arrival, the Dodgers were failing to live up to expectations and barely were floating around .500. Then came Bellinger, who slugged his way into the hearts of many and acted as the catalyst to the Dodgers’ 104-win season.
The NL Rookie of the Year was smashing anything and everything he saw. Bellinger slugged 25 home runs in the first half of the season in 70 games played. Although that number dropped to 14 in the second half, Bellinger finished with 39 home runs and 97 RBIs; breaking multiple National League records in the process.
However, Bellinger did not do much at the plate in the postseason. Bellinger looked, well, like a rookie and the Houston Astros exploited a newfound weakness. Bellinger could not successfully hit breaking balls from Houston pitchers, leading the rookie to break Aaron Judge‘s record for most strikeouts in a postseason, ever.
The sophomore has massive expectations heading into 2018 after such a stellar rookie campaign. Honestly, these expectations are probably too high to begin with. Yet still, after such a sluggish and disappointing postseason, Bellinger has a lot to prove if he wants to avoid the infamous sophomore slump.