Los Angeles Dodgers: The Rise of Max Muncy

The Los Angeles Dodgers have turned another unheralded player into a star.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have made it a habit of creating stars out of nowhere. Andrew Friedman and company deserve immense credit for identifying unheralded talent, pushing them through their player development system, and have them produce in the Majors. The Dodgers have unearthed guys like Enrique Hernandez, Austin Barnes, and Chris Taylor in trades from other organizations who didn’t realize the talent they had.

The most impactful addition, however, was a minor league signing on April 29, 2017 that went far under the radar. That day, the Dodgers signed former A’s infielder Max Muncy to a minor league deal and sent him to Oklahoma City as minor league depth. Muncy went on to play the entire 2017 season at AAA, putting up a strong batting line of .309/.414/.491 (139 wRC+).

Muncy began the 2018 season back in triple A before being called up. What a decision that turned out to be. He exploded to what may have been one of the more unexpected season in MLB history. Muncy stroked an incredible .263/.391/.582 (162 wRC+) chipping in defensively at 1B, 2B, 3B, and LF en route to a 5.2 WAR season.  He then provided one of the biggest moments in World Series history with his walk off blast in the 18th inning.

This season Muncy is doing much of the same, sporting an above average batting line (135 wRC+) and providing excellent defense at the non-SS infield positions (+12 Defensive Runs Saved). That production has already been worth 3.3 WAR and he has cemented himself as a multi positional slugger and the Dodgers best player not named Cody Bellinger. Need proof of him dominating?  Here is Muncy walking it off against the Padres.

So how did Muncy attain his borderline superstar status? With the bat, he has taken a selective approach to maximize the damage he does on contact. Overall Muncy actually doesn’t hit the ball all that hard with an average exit velocity of 88.9 MPH (45th percentile). What he does do though, is hit the crap out of the ball in the middle and upper quadrants of the zone.

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Maximizing that quality has resulted in 27 home runs this year and 35 last year. In addition to the superb approach and quality of contact, Muncy is actually pretty quick at 27.7 feet/second (70th percentile) and puts him in the same neighborhood as Mookie Betts and Joey Gallo. That speed allows him to take extra bases and put pressure on fielders who have to be on their toes.  Muncy is a complete offensive player.

Defensively, the Dodgers deserve a ton of credit for getting the most out of Muncy. At first glance, Muncy doesn’t scream above average fielder but the bat plays so the Dodgers found a way to get him in the lineup.

The Dodgers also lead the way in optimally positioning players to get the most out of their guys even if they may have limited range, lateral quickness, or arms strength. They took a chance and now Muncy is above average at three positions and lets Dave Roberts play matchups however he and the Dodgers please.

Every individual throughout the majors and the minors is capable of turning into a quality asset. Some come with first round pedigrees and some are minor league signings. In the case of Max Muncy, it was a guy refining his offensive approach and getting into a situation where his team found a way to make him thrive. Now, he’s one of the top players on the NL’s most dominant team. Just make sure the next time your team makes a “minor” signing it could turn into this.