Dodgers: Four players that are set to regress in 2018

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HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 29: Cody Bellinger (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger is going to have to learn how to hit a curveball in 2018 if he wants to come anywhere close to the breakout season he had in 2017. Bellinger showed a huge gap in his swing during the World Series, where the Houston Astros struck out the slugger 17 times in 29 plate appearances. Bellinger broke the two-week-old postseason strikeout record in the process.

Now, Bellinger was a rookie last season and he did perform how rookies often do on big stages. You cannot blame Bellinger for struggling against experienced pitchers with a whole year’s worth of tape.

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However, you also cannot ignore the struggles that Bellinger had. Right now, he is likely working tirelessly to improve that facet of his game and I am sure he will come back in 2018 with a better grip on how to hit those pesky curveballs.

The problem with Bellinger though is his player mold. It is the same player mold that wins over countless fans and fizzles out in a short amount of time. It is the same player mold that ultimately will also hurt Aaron Judge if the two cannot make adjustments.

High home run hitting, high strikeout hitters never have a long tenure in the MLB. Look at Ryan Howard as the perfect example. He was unstoppable, then, he was human. While Bellinger may not have that big of a drop-off, as soon as opposing pitchers can stop the home run, they render power hitters useless.

Next: Five Dodgers that will improve in 2018

Luckily for Bellinger, he can still put the ball in play in the gaps and with roping singles. However, the rest of the MLB has had months to gameplan against Bellinger, thus, another 39 home run season is very hard to imagine.

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