Los Angeles Dodgers Call Up Cody Bellinger, Scouting Report

Scouting Report

Size/Build

Bellinger is listed at 6’4″ and 210 pounds, and he’s actually leaned down some this winter to get to where that’s probably an accurate weight. I would have pegged him for 220-230 in 2016, but he’s leaned down this season, and the results have been obvious.

Hitting

Contact (55) – Bellinger approaches each at bat from an open stance, with his right leg back as the pitch is released, coming to a power position with his feet as his swing starts.

Bellinger’s load is short, but he does load low with an uppercut finish to his swing, which generates plenty of power. This has led to some swing and miss and holes that pitchers exploit initially at a new level, but Bellinger has extremely high baseball intelligence, and he has shown the ability to adjust quickly.

While I’m not sure that there’s a consistent .300 hitter in his swing, he has the ability to hit for high average when he’s really locked in.

Power (65) – It’s hard not to put a pure plus-plus grade on this tool with Bellinger. He adjusted his swing to the more pronounced upper cut swing after the 2014 season, and the power results were immediate.

There are few who create the type of backspin on the ball that Bellinger does, which can be a blessing and a curse. When the swing path stays pure uppercut, that can be an issue. Bellinger has done an excellent job of keeping his uppercut finish while adjusting his load position to focus for a more line drive approach in certain conditions, and that has allowed him to drive the ball in all conditions, something many guys with his swing struggle with.

Eye (60) – Bellinger’s baseball instincts are most evident in the adjustments he makes in his approach at the plate. Bellinger does very well with zone recognition, though he struggled at times at a new level with pitch recognition as he would see higher quality movement at each level than the previous level.

He does adjust quickly, however, and that is evident as he drops his strikeout rate throughout the season at a new level.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Base Running/Fielding

Speed (55) – Bellinger was probably more of a 50-grade runner in the offseason, a guy who used baseball smarts to steal bases well, but didn’t have tremendous speed to note. He’d stolen 80 percent of bases attempted due to that level of baseball smarts before 2017.

After an offseason of trimming down what little there was to lean off of his frame, Bellinger has really shown the ability to maximize his speed. He does take long strides, understandable at his height, so he’s not a guy that you’d expect to be a big base stealer in the major leagues, but his instincts have allowed him to be among the leaders in the Pacific Coast League early this season with seven steals without a caught stealing thus far.

Defense (60) – In the limited views I’ve had of Bellinger in the outfield, I’ve seen excellent used of his long legs to range for the ball, but his instincts off the bat are still a work in progress.

Bellinger at first base, however, would be a true 70-grade defender, which is a crazy number to put on a first baseman, but his range, instincts, and ability to stretch and catch the ball is incredibly impressive at first base. Were he to move back to the position eventually, he’d be a legit Platinum Glove contender as a first baseman.

Arm (60) – Bellinger does have a plus arm, touching 90 MPH off the mound in high school. What I have been very impressed with from Bellinger at first and the outfield is his accuracy. He’s already shown the ability to position himself on catches to maximize his throws after a catch. His natural arm strength will be able to read more as he gets more time in the outfield.

MLB Player Comp

The uppercut nature of his swing, his physical stature, and his mental strength in adapting his game reminds me strongly of Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman.

They come to their swing from different stances, as Freeman is more coiled in his stance before unleashing his swing and Bellinger is more upright and open in his stance.

Both men, however, can put a hurt on the ball when they tag it, and I do think it will be a thing where Bellinger may have a year or two of rougher strikeout numbers at the big league level as he adjusts to the league, but I’d expect that K rate to settle in around 20-ish percent.

Freeman had a similar adjustment at each level he reached in the minors and in the majors, with his walk rate being what adjusted, dipping to single digits early in his MLB career and reaching nearly 20 percent in the early season in 2017 after being consistently 12 percent.

Next: Scouting Report on Pirates' Austin Meadows

With his call up, Bellinger will get his opportunity to show the Dodgers that he can handle an every day lineup spot. He has the offensive tools to do such, and his outfield ability should pick up with his excellent baseball smarts.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Bellinger is moved back to first base when Adrian Gonzalez‘s contract is up after the 2018 season simply due to his elite defense at that position along with his bat certainly fitting the position.