James Outman is leading the Los Angeles Dodgers' youth movement. The reigning NL Rookie of the Month award winner is off to a sizzling start in 2023. Mookie Betts, however, isn't surprised by Outman's incredible beginning to 2023. Betts recently revealed that he expected Outman to perform well prior to the season during a postgame interview with ESPN, per Matthew Moreno of Dodger Blue.

“He's really good,” Betts said of Outman. “I was telling my family back in February before Spring Training, that's the man everybody needs to watch out for because I feel like he's very, very good at baseball. He's just showing it.”

Betts' postgame interview came after the Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres on Sunday in extra innings, earning a 2-1 series victory on the road.

LA was down to the final out with Betts facing Padres' closer Josh Hader in the 9th before Mookie hit a game-tying home run. The Dodgers held the Padres scoreless in the bottom of the 9th, and rookie Michael Busch singled in the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th. James Outman proceeded to smash a 2-run homer in the 10th to provide the Dodgers with extra insurance. They went on to win the game 5-2.

Through 35 games in 2023, Outman is now slashing .274/.370/.581 with a .952 OPS and eight home runs. He's been a key contributor for the Dodgers without question. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his current pace throughout the '23 campaign.

Outman, Betts, and the Dodgers traveled to Milwaukee following their series in San Diego and will play the Brewers on Monday night at 7:40 PM EST.