Los Angeles Dodgers: Potential first-time all-stars for 2019
By Jason Reed
2. Max Muncy
We’ve got the two very obvious selections out of the way in Walker Buehler and Max Muncy. It was those two that inspired us to write this article, however, there is another dark horse candidate to be an all-star that some Dodger fans probably don’t even stop and think twice about.
Muncy obviously has never been an all-star as 2018 served as a huge breakout year for a guy that was a replacement-level talent at best. It is funny, too, because Muncy participated in the Home Run Derby after his quick arrival onto the MLB scene.
Many Dodger fans are expecting Muncy to regress, which seems to happen every time and is a natural cycle. Power-hitting left-handed bats almost always regress, especially in year two when there is more film on a guy, and Muncy is no exception.
Plus, Muncy got pretty ice-cold after the All-Star Break, which only adds more fuel to the fire and lowers the expectations.
And while he probably won’t be as good as he was when he first came up, because he truly was elite, he can still slug 30 home runs, drive in over 80 RBIs and be a nice power hitting presence for the Dodgers.
He is not going to hit .300 but even a .260 season out of Muncy would be fine and would likely be enough to get him to the All-Star Game with enough power numbers to support him.
Muncy has such a good, patient approach at the plate that is unlike other power-hitting lefties that we have seen before him. That is why I think there is a good chance that Muncy could repeat his fortunes and become an all-star in 2019.