Los Angeles Dodgers: Bold predictions for Cody Bellinger in 2020
By Jason Reed
1. Cody Bellinger joins an exclusive home run club
Cody Bellinger has been slugging home runs since he stepped foot on an MLB diamond and has not really slowed down. Even in his sophomore slump season, Bellinger still hit 25 home runs, which is fantastic for a 22-year-old.
It is a shame that Bellinger could not have had a 35-home run season, as he would really be setting himself up to make history. In fact, just 30 home runs in his second season would have led to him having the most home runs in MLB history through three seasons.
Bellinger would have to hit 58 home runs to become the all-time leader after four seasons, so that should not be expected. However, he can still join an exclusive group this season and likely will, as he will become just the fourth player ever to hit 150 home runs through his first four career seasons.
Eddie Matthews (153), Albert Pujols (160) and Ralph Kiner (168) are the only players in league history to do so. Bellinger currently sits at 111 home runs, so he would have to match his rookie-season total of 39 home runs in order to join the club.
Hitting 39 home runs is not an easy feat but even if other areas of his game start to dip slightly, Bellinger is still a massive home run threat and should be a near-lock for 35 home runs, as long as he stays healthy.
Bellinger is probably looking to improve from last year and hit the 50-home run mark, which would be spectacular. All he needs is 39 to keep on his historic pace.