Dodgers News: Michael Busch 'Outplayed' Miguel Vargas, Earning Opportunities in LA
We're now in the final month of the MLB regular season? That went fast, didn't it?
And with the calendar turning to September, there was one more chance for teams around the league to upgrade their rosters ahead of the stretch run.
Rosters expanded from 26 spots to 28 on September 1, giving franchises the opportunity to call up some key prospects for the final month.
The Dodgers' two September call-ups were starting pitcher Emmet Sheehan and second baseman Kolten Wong -- who'd been on a tear for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers since signing last month.
One notable omission on LA's call up list was infielder Miguel Vargas, who's slashing .303/.411/.480 through 44 games with OKC this season.
But lately, things haven't gone as smoothly for the 23-year-old, as he's slashing just .138/.260/.276 over the last month.
That, combined with top Dodger prospect Michael Busch tearing it up for OKC -- he'd slashed .323/.432/.615 this season -- led to Busch essentially winning out over Vargas.
And Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said as much before his team played their series finale against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
When asked if Vargas was considered for a September call up, Roberts confirmed that he was, but he said that Busch "outplayed" him.
"He was... To be quite honest, Busch outplayed him."
“Michael's a prospect as well. We absolutely believe in what Miguel Vargas is going to do for us going forward. But I do believe that at some point meritocracy and performance should matter and, to be quite honest, Michael went down there and played well.”
via SportsNet LA
Busch is still trying to find his rhythm since his most recent promotion, as he's hitting 3-for-24 at the plate since being called up in late August. That said, he has hit his first two MLB home runs during this stretch.
The fact that the Dodgers think highly of both Busch and Vargas is clear, and hopefully the latter will be able to find his swing for OKC in September and eventually find himself back in LA at the start of next season.
