Dodgers Bench Player Continues to Impress in Starting Role
Entering the season, all of the talk was about the Dodgers projected starting lineup and just how dangerous it could be offensively. The talk was warranted. The top of LA's batting order is a superstar shortstop, Trea Turner, sandwiched between two league MVPs - Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman . After that, it's a mix of All-Star hitters, Max Muncy, Justin Turner, Chris Taylor, yet another league MVP, Cody Bellinger, plus the best hitting catcher in the league in Will Smith.
Which is why it makes sense that Edwin Ríos flew under the radar. The left-handed slugger missed the bulk of last season after undergoing shoulder surgery and didn't come into 2022 with any expectations.
Due to Max Muncy's offensive woes and aching elbow, Ríos has been a frequent name on the lineup card and he's making the most of his opportunity.
On Friday night, Ríos took Arizona starter Madison Bumgarner deep for his sixth home run of the year to hand the Dodgers an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second.
Ríos has served as the team's primary DH for most of May and it looks like he read the job description. In his last 11 games, Ríos owns a .931 OPS and has logged 13 RBI.
After Friday night's 6-4 win, Ríos provided his thoughts on his long ball off of Bumgarner (quote via The Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett).
“I talk to Freddie (Freeman) a lot. I feel like he always has a great approach. So I was just trying to stay inside his mix, drive it hard to center field. He threw a heater up and in. I was just able to get my barrel to it and watched it go.”
Before play on Saturday, Ríos has the best home run to fly ball ratio in baseball (40.0%) among players with at least 70 plate appearances.
If he can keep hitting the ball over the fence, he might force manager Dave Roberts to keep him in the lineup.
