Los Angeles Dodgers: Alex Verdugo should be an everyday guy

The Los Angeles Dodgers will finally get a chance to field top prospect Alex Verdugo in the everyday lineup and should not pass up on that chance.

Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers have been awaiting Alex Verdugo for over a year and it appears as if the highly-touted prospect will finally get his full chance to shine in 2019.

The Dodgers have room in the outfield for Verdugo after trading away Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp to the Cincinnati Reds. However, there still appears to be some competition, as the Dodgers have A.J. Pollock and many assume the team will field Cody Bellinger in the outfield.

That leaves Joc Pederson and Verdugo, who some think will be battling for a job. Michael Wittman of Dodgers Way, our FanSided sister site, agrees with that sentiment and even writes:

"“If Joc is ultimately traded then Verdugo will be a lock to start but until that happens Alex must win the job outright in spring training.  The Dodgers don’t have many position battles entering spring training but the Joc/Verdugo battle is one of the few to watch in the coming weeks.”"

I understand the sentiments here, especially as it appears that Bellinger will be in the outfield. First of all, Bellinger should not be in the outfield at all and would much better for the Dodgers at first base, forcing the Dodgers to move Max Muncy to second.

Don’t believe me? Read the story below to see how both the best defensive lineup the Dodgers can field with both guys is with Muncy at second and Bellinger at first.

Even if Bellinger does move to the outfield there really should be no battle for the third spot, even if Pederson is traded. Pederson would be a nice power-hitting bat to turn to in pinch-hitting situations and fits the third outfielder role nicely.

The Dodgers would be better suited in trading him for a right-handed outfield to field alongside Verdugo and Pollock, but that might not be the case.

Regardless of what happens to Pederson, Verdugo should not only be the starting right fielder but should be in the everyday lineup.

Yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers should play their rookie outfielder, who hits left-handed nonetheless, nearly every day.

Of course, he might not be a traditional everyday guy because of the countless lineups that the Dodgers use but he should start no less than 140 games, if healthy, this year.

Verdugo is a lot better than a lot of people realize and he truly has five-tool potential. He has a smooth swing that produces gap-to-gap power, can slug 15-20 home runs, is quick on the base path, is an elite defender and has an arm that will mirror Yasiel Puig.

The surprising part about Verdugo? He does not have an awful split against southpaws. In fact, although it still is AAA pitching, Verdugo mashed southpaws last season. In 123 plate appearances against left-handed pitching Verdugo hit .368 with a .919 OPS, better than his numbers against right-handed pitching.

That will naturally dip as he hits the big leagues but it is evident that, like Corey Seager, Verdugo doesn’t have this huge disadvantage when facing southpaws.

At some point we do need to see potential turn into results, I understand that argument.

However, Verdugo has not even gotten close to a fair shake in the big leagues. It is time for the Los Angeles Dodgers to make him an everyday player.