There is always that fun bunch of sleepers who show up out of nowhere to provide a huge morale and winning boost to their squad. That has been the case for the World Series champions as they look to make another run at the top of the mountain for an opportunity to repeat their success last year in the regular and postseason.
The youngest hitter on the Dodgers' lineup this year is Andy Pages. The man responsible for having an already solid year with the organization that he got his first ring with in 2024, when he was part of the same squad that put the New York Yankees out 4-1 in the World Series. Now, Pages has aided the Dodgers' core with a strong push in his breakout season for Los Angeles.
After a strong pep talk following the Dodgers series against the Chicago Cubs, it was Dave Roberts, the manager of the Dodgers, who reassured Pages to trust himself and allow his hitting to become his superpower. The same trust that management had with Pages and Hyeseong Kim when they did not go after any major outfielders in the offseason. Everyone has ups and downs, but that never wavered the team from pulling the leash on Page's downs when the season began.
The sit-down with Roberts on April 7 would result in Pages being brought back into the lineup, where he proceeded to have 27 hits, 6 home runs, and 20 runs batted in on a .337 batting average. Pages' defense has also shown out with robbing home runs from the opposing squads they faced recently in the last month.
The Dodgers' President of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman, was also a vocal key for Pages as he reminded the young prospect to exhale, go out, and have fun with the game he grew up watching. Pages has been called a gifted natural hitter, and why wouldn't he be? He joined rare company when he knocked out ten hits against the Pirates, and on top of that, he continues to look for newer ways to make up for the injuries suffered on the Dodgers roster.
With big brother Teoscar Hernandez out of action, the bond created between the two has played a good part in Pages' mental getting back into the right place and putting on performances that the team needs to stay on top of a division that has many teams looking to pit the superstars into a wall to prevent them from raising another championship banner for Los Angeles.
The more the season unfolds, as long as Pages is able to stay healthy and at the top of his game, we will continue to hear praise and see the unraveling of a much-needed core player for the organization that continues to adapt in hard times and walk out of it with a diamond in the rough in Pages' breakout season with the Dodgers.
The Dodgers finish up their ten-game road trip on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. After that, they are expected to spend the next nine games at home when they will welcome the Athletics, Angels, and Diamondbacks to Chavez Ravine before they embark on a six-game trip against the Mets and Guardians.