Editorials

Dodgers: Digging into Gavin Lux’s Case as a Prime Bounce Back Candidate for 2021

The 2020 season went largely according to plan for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not only did they finally end their 32-year title drought, but they also added plenty of talent to remain competitive for years to come.

Much of the Dodgers’ success came thanks to their young stars, most notably Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin. Their impact helped ease the load on the veterans and helped them find momentum heading into next year. One name that you would have expected to see more of, however, is former number one prospect Gavin Lux.



A Forgettable 2020 Season

Gavin Lux 2020 Stats

  • 19 Games Played
  • .175 BA
  • 3 HR
  • 8 RBI

2020 could not have gone any worse for Gavin Lux. As a late arrival to Dodgers training camp, he faced an uphill climb from the start. He did not have enough time to round into shape prior to Opening Day, and as a result, he was left off of the roster completely to start the season.

No one thought that this would last very long, but something didn’t look quite right with the 23-year-old. His swing wasn’t there and his mechanics just weren’t quite in sync. Needless to say, no one expected this to be the case coming into the year.

Once he did get his call back up to the major league squad, things didn’t go much better for Lux. His playing time was sporadic, and he was never able to find himself regardless of how many opportunities Dave Roberts tried to give him. Whether it was because of the extended time off or because of something going on with Lux personally, it was a year to forget in his young career.

Hope for 2021

While the 2020 season wasn’t one to write home about for Lux, there are some who see next year as a chance to rebound. MLB.com’s Will Leitch identified Gavin as the Dodgers’ top candidate to have a bounce-back season in 2021, an outcome that would make a lot of people in Los Angeles very happy.

While the numbers weren’t very impressive during the shortened season, they are hardly the best numbers to use when evaluating the future of a player. Lux appeared in a total of 19 games with the Dodgers in 2020, a number that doesn’t determine what the future of the young infielder truly holds. He showed what he was capable of in his short call-up back in 2019 with a .305/.400/.705 slash line to his name, and that’s the player that LA hopes to get once the new season comes around.

The Dodgers are still confident in Gavin Lux as their future at second base, and he should receive some more consistent playing time with a (hopefully) full season of games come springtime. And if the former top prospect can find some of the same magic that helped him throughout the minors, the rich will continue to get richer as Los Angeles looks for a repeat trip to the Fall Classic.

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Daniel Palma

Daniel is an avid sports fan who loves his hometown teams. If he's not watching baseball, you can find him playing or coaching. No matter what, he'll always root for the Boys in Blue!

21 Comments

  1. Lux didn’t seem right …right out of the gate…there was something missing in his eyes…there has to be family problems going on….we hope those are past him and he can come to camp in shape and ready to play

    1. The reason lux was late for spring training 2 was he had coronavirus and he never got caught up.

  2. With Gavin at the alternate sight most of the season the Dodgers should know his strengths and weaknesses pretty well. Nobody else does. What they saw will no doubt determine if they keep him or trade him.

  3. The Dodgers know their player’s potential. Other Scouts are high on Lux. He turned 23 in November. He signed out of high school. Will the Dodgers give up on Lux after such incredible numbers in the Minors?
    I doubt one pandemic disrupted year will get the Dodger mgmt & coaches to give up on him when he showed such promise in his short preview in 2019.
    If the Dodgers can get solid offense from 2nd base & if Muncy and Bellinger can improve their offense from 2020 the Dodgers should be a juggernaut with their pitching.
    My opinion is they will give him a tremendous amount of time and coaching to reach his very high potential. My biggest concerns this year are if the Dodgers will re-sign Turner and extend Seager.

    1. I would tend to agree, my hopes is Seager is extended, although his agent we all know what he is about. I asked someone on Facebook who the Dodgers have up and coming from the minors at 3rd base, he told me, the names escapes me at the moment, but seems we don’t need to trade for a 3rd baseman just yet. People seem to think were stacked with pitching and if anything some of baseballs famous words, U never have enough pitching!

    2. i also tend to agree. but, handing the starter’s job at 2nd base to lux is not going to happen until he can prove that 2020 was a fluke. i’d rather hire sure thing lemahieu and let lux do kiki’s job. if lux thinks he can beat out lemahieu’s bat and glove at second, let’s see it!

    3. Gavin knows what happened to him. There were times when he looked absolutely paranoid. Not sure if it was nerves or the realization he was not ready. Either way he deserves his shot at a sophomore run. I’m hoping he flips the scale and puts up some great numbers in 21.

  4. He has this long windup to his swing. Bellinger and Peterson had the same issue. Bellinger changed his swing. Peterson is still refusing to change so he hits home runs, walks and strikes out. No wonder the Dodgers haven’t resigned him. I’d like to hear what some hitting gurus have to say about this AAA star who never did anything in the majors. You can’t call Liz a bounce back candidate because he has never bounced.

  5. Dodgers aren’t going to hand Lux anything. He’ll have to earn his way back onto 26 man roster. Fates could be working against him though. It doesn’t seem likely that ST will kick off as scheduled at this point.

  6. He also looks like he has a slight case of the yips in throwing to first. Once that gets into your head, or the narrative about you, it can impact everything else (see Steve Sax). He didn’t have enough ABs to show any consistency at the plate. The best thing they can do is see what he does in the spring and either commit to playing him regularly or push the sell button and give him a fresh start somewhere else.

  7. Competition may get Lux to change his swing. Busch is impressing people with his bat at the AZ site. Mann is on the 60 man roster and he is showing some power and plays 2nd base. several options.

  8. Don’t the Dodgers employ “the” hitting guru? When can Lux start working with him? Add to that the silence from Friedman about Lux, and I think there’s something brewing.

    Lux back home to Milwaukie for LHR Bader? Mann and Taylor fill in for a year until Busch gets up here?

    Sure is more questions than answers…

  9. lux has a big problem, the big head, he is a punk,why leave him in the clubhouse to cause more problems, let him in okla. that is speed. kika is way better @ 2nd base, put muncy on 3rd BASE,CORY@SS, BELLI @ 1ST, BELLI SHOULDER IS FIXED . MATT BEATY @ 3RD BASE , KEEP JOC , LET PEDRO ,KELLY WOOD, WALK,TRADE MUNCY FOR A GREAT RIGHT HAND BAT

    1. Bingo, somebody else who noticed. No kid should show up late, tell the press why is nobody’s business, and declare himself ready to be rookie of the year. Hopefully last year has humbled him some, and hopefully he gets his swing and throws back in line, he has looked terrible at the major league level.

  10. I think Bellinger is much more valuable in center. Hard to trade Muncy when he hit .150. Do you know Lux enough to call him a punk? Machado showed his colors but I haven’t seen anything from Lux to confirm he is a locker room problem. Keep JT. He can still field and hits for average, with RISP and especially with two strikes. Bellinger is wildly sporatic and doesn’t seem to adjust………..stands too close to the plate, doesn’t bend his knees, doesn’t adjust when he is behind in the count. I grew up when avg., not homeruns, was the measure of a player………ie Tommy Davis, Wally Moon

  11. lux bounce back…..from what to what?? muncy and belli need to be the bounce back kids.

  12. Remember, MLB announced there will be no minor leagues this year so there is no place to stash kids to learn unless there is a traffic jam at the Glendale complex all year with the White Sox. Not a very good opportunity to further shape players.

  13. 2021 is the last chance for Lux. He doesn’t have to play great. But he does have to play a minimum level of competence, which he hasn’t done with the big team. The FO isn’t going to say it’s do or die. But it is. If a really good trade presents itself, I would throw Lux in the pot. May, Gonsolin, Smith, Rios, and just about every Dodger newcomer hit the ground running. Lux hit the ground and stuck there like a stick in the mud. The clock is ticking.

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