Alex Verdugo is having a great rookie season for the Dodgers. Former Dodgers first baseman, and 1992 NL Rookie of the Year Eric Karros recently listed the outfielder fifth on his top-5 MLB rookies list for Fox Sports.
POWER RANKINGS: Top 5 MLB Rookies according to Eric Karros
1. @Mets 1B Pete Alonso
2. @Braves RHP Mike Soroka
3. @RaysBaseball OF Brandon Lowe
4. @Braves OF Austin Riley
5. @Dodgers OF Alex Verdugo pic.twitter.com/iCOLaG7xLR— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 26, 2019
Karros on Verdugo.
What he does for this ball club, he adds something – a swagger – that it didn’t really have.
If Dugie getting his shot has felt like a long time coming, that’s because it has been a long time. Verdugo made his MLB debut back in 2017 as 21 year-old for a 15 game cup of coffee. He added another 37 games in 2018, but still just barely qualified for rookie status in 2019.
77 games into his official rookie campaign, “The Executioner” is batting .300 (71-237) with 7 home runs and 32 RBI, and has added exceptional defense in the outfield. He is fourth in wRC+ and fWAR among NL rookies. Moreover, he is first among all qualified rookies in K%, whiffing only 9.9%, which also paces the Dodgers. That 9.9% is also good for fifth in all of baseball, among qualified batters.
Most importantly, as Karros noted, he’s been a spark plug for this team. Both in the clubhouse, and in the lineup as he continues to make his way up in the batting order.
The post Dodgers News: Alex Verdugo Makes Top-5 MLB Rookies List appeared first on Dodgers Nation.
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