Los Angeles Dodgers: Yasiel Puig Wasting No Time with Fast Start

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig appears hellbent on putting last season’s disappointment behind him. He’s swinging a hot bat through his first four games of 2017.

The 2016 season was just about the nadir of Yasiel Puig‘s Major League Baseball experience, for a variety of reasons. For one thing, he had his least productive year at the plate, slashing .263/.323/.416 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI in 104 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His 101 OPS+ was a career low.

In his 2013 rookie campaign, the Cuban phenom hit for a scorching .319/.391/.534 line with 19 homers and 42 RBI (159 OPS+) in the same number of contests. That seems like quite a long time ago now, and it’s been a downward slide since then for a player who appeared ticketed for superstardom.

It all came to a head last August, when the Dodgers demoted the struggling Puig to Triple-A Oklahoma City. How far the mighty had fallen. However, the outfielder showed signs of life after being called back up in September, batting .281/.338/.561 over his final 23 games. Perhaps the temporary blow to his pride did the trick.

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Puig entered 2017 not as the Dodgers’ main attraction, but as a wild card from which no one knew exactly what to expect. Though four games is a very small sample size, the 26-year-old looks like a man on a mission so far. A mission to reclaim his former place among the game’s top young talents.

At the close of L.A.’s season-opening series against the Padres, Puig is 5-for-12 at the plate (.417 BA). Most notably, three of those five hits have left the ballpark. He belted two of his league-leading home run total yesterday in the Dodgers’ 10-2 victory. It was a monster day overall for Puig, as he went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, four RBI and two walks.

Aside from the power surge, which we’ve seen from Puig before, the most impressive thing about his early performance might be his plate discipline. In 16 times up at the dish, Puig has drawn four walks and struck out only once. That’s a promising ratio for a player who has averaged a 9 percent walk rate and 20.5 percent strikeout rate during his career.

Manager Dave Roberts has taken notice. Per the Los Angeles Times:

"“When he’s swinging at strikes and taking balls, when he’s focused like that, he’s a very dangerous hitter,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “He’s being very disciplined with his approach. They’re pitching him tough, but he’s swinging at strikes and taking balls. We’re looking for him to sustain it.”"

Puig has been doing his damage mostly toward the bottom of the lineup. The Dodgers started the season by batting him eighth, before moving him up to the five-spot for the following contest. It was back down to number-eight in the next game, and yesterday’s offensive outburst came while batting seventh.

The Dodgers appear to be quickly buying into Puig’s resurgence, rewarding him with the cleanup spot in the order for this afternoon’s matchup against the Rockies as Corey Seager and Adrian Gonzalez get a day off. Even when they return, Puig will hope to force the team to keep batting him in the heart of the order.

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To do that, he’ll need to show consistency. Puig’s early results are certainly encouraging, and they remind us of the kind of electrifying player he can be. But the Dodgers will want to see him do it over an extended period of time rather than just one series. For now, it looks like he’s on the right track. A genuine return to form by Puig could be an ace up the Dodgers’ sleeve in their ambitious 2017 campaign.