The 2024 MLB campaign has been a tough one for Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder James Outman.
Outman is just 2-for-24 over his last seven games, and on the season overall, he is slashing a meager .163/.260/.293 with three home runs and 10 RBI over 104 plate appearances. He managed to smash a two-run blast in the Dodgers' win over the Miami Marlins this past Monday, but otherwise, it has been a struggle.
“It’s no secret it hasn’t been great, obviously,” Outman said, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
Outman has been relegated to a part-time role due to his massive slump coupled with the rise of rookie outfielder Andy Pages, who is slashing .308/.329/.526 with four long balls and 13 RBI in 20 contests.
Pages' production has almost certainly added some pressure to Outman, who began the year as Los Angeles' starting center fielder. The good news is that Outman is choosing to look at the bright side in spite of this rough patch. As a matter of fact, he feels better than he did during his first full season last year.
“It feels less dark this time, just because last year was really my first time really grinding,” Outman said. “It’s baseball. Just get in there, get some at-bats and it’ll work itself out.”
Outman briefly came up for four games in 2022, going 6-for-13 with a homer, a couple of doubles and three RBI. Last year, he participated in 151 affairs and slashed .248/.353/.437 with 23 dingers and 70 RBI across 567 plate appearances. He added 16 stolen bases, to boot.
Expectations were relatively high for the 26-year-old after his impressive 2023, but he obviously has not lived up to them thus far in 2024. The good news is that it is only May, so there is plenty of time for Outman to turn things around.
The Dodgers have been just fine in spite of James Outman
Outman's miserable .553 OPS has certainly not stopped the Dodgers from winning.
Los Angeles is in first place in the NL West and boasts the second-best record in the National League at 26-13. The Dodgers are 6.5 games in front of the second-place San Diego Padres, and it's looking like they will cruise to a fourth straight division title.
Not that that comes as much of a surprise.
Los Angeles splurged on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in free agency this past offseason, adding the two Japanese stars to a roster that was already stacked to begin with. The Dodgers won 100 games without those two last year, so it would actually be a disappointment if they didn't rattle off triple-digit victories again this season.
The ballclub's offense hasn't skipped a beat, either. Los Angeles leads the majors in pretty much every statistical category you can imagine, including batting average, OPS and runs scored. Now imagine how much better LA's offense would be if Outman can get going, as well?
Thanks to the dynamic duo of Ohtani and Mookie Betts, the Dodgers have been able to manage just fine. Free-agent addition Teoscar Hernandez has been terrific, as well, with the outfielder having already bashed 10 home runs. He also leads the team with 29 RBI heading into Friday's action.
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