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The Los Angeles Dodgers and their Player Development Machine

By Michael Francis

LOS ANGELES, CA- OCTOBER 27: Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting the game winning home run to defeat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in the 18th inning of during game three of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday, October 27, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/Digital First Media/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA- OCTOBER 27: Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting the game winning home run to defeat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in the 18th inning of during game three of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Friday, October 27, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/Digital First Media/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Dodgers Short Stop Chris Taylor
TOKYO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 10: Infiedler Chris Taylor #3 of the Los Angeles Dodgers strikes out in the bottom of 3rd inning during the game two of the Japan and MLB All Stars at Tokyo Dome on November 10, 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images) /

Chris Taylor

The Dodgers reached the World Series in 2017 for the first time since they won it all back in 1988, in no small part due to the emergence of Chris Taylor. Taylor’s path to stardom was similar to Turner’s in that he had previously been a utility infielder that was more of a AAAA player rather than a full-time starter. After getting traded to the Dodgers in 2016 amidst another mediocre season, Taylor decided to change everything. He knew what he was doing wasn’t working so he decided to seek out a private hitting instructor just like Justin Turner did.

Taylor worked with hitting guru and Dodgers consultant, Craig Wallenbrock, and Robert Von Scoyoc who has since been hired as the team’s hitting coach. They showed Taylor that by increasing his launch angle and getting the ball in the air he could become a great hitter rather than the low-ceiling, slap hitter he had been to that point in his career. The results have been staggering. Taylor increased his average launch angle from 14 degrees from 2015-2016 to 18 degrees since and all it did was raise his batting average from .187 to .270, his slugging percentage from .277 to .470, and his xwOBA from .264 to .333. Taylor risked it all by overhauling his swing, but the reward has been even sweeter than he could have imagined.

You can start to see the Dodger’s impact on its players with the emergence of Chris Taylor. Sure he is the one that sought help from a private hitting instructor, but it was an instructor who was already working for the Dodgers as a consultant. The Dodgers facilitated Taylor’s improvement by having a coach such as Wallenbrock in a position for Taylor to seek him out and feel comfortable about doing so. The Dodgers also clearly intend to keep this trend going with their hiring of Wallenbrock disciple, Robert Von Scoyoc. His presence in the Dodgers dugout should allow players like Chris Taylor, Justin Turner and others to keep their approach solid throughout the season.

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