A slumping star player is the last thing a team wants with the MLB postseason just around the corner. And yet, everyone from the World Series favorites to the Wild Card hopefuls is dealing with it in some capacity.
The question now is whether it’s too late for those players to turn things around or if there’s still time for them to build enough momentum for a postseason peak. FOX Sports MLB writers Rowan Kanver and Deesha Thosar dive into that and more in this week’s MLB Roundtable:
What is the most important thing or player for L.A. to fix over the next few weeks, as rosters expand and the postseason looms?
Kavner: Kyle Tucker. Edwin DÃaz is a close second, but even if DÃaz never threw another pitch this year, the Dodgers demonstrated last season when Tanner Scott struggled in the first year of his four-year, $72 million deal (and then didnt appear in the postseason) that they can withstand the loss of a high-leverage reliever and make up for it in other ways. Some of their starting pitchers will likely again find their way in the bullpen once October arrives.
There arent as many ways to mask Tucker’s struggles, which show up on both offense and defense. He has the lowest OPS at home of any qualified MLB player, and he has dropped catchable fly balls in each of the Dodgers last two series. His frustrations at home got to the point last Saturday that Dave Roberts gave him a mental day off. Last year, when Michael Conforto struggled in L.A. on his one-year, $17 million deal, the Dodgers gave Conforto all year to try to get right before ultimately holding him off the postseason roster. Thats a lot harder to do with a player making $60 million a year, so they need to try to find a way to get Tuckers confidence back to a place where he can at least be an additive supporting piece. He doesnt have to be an All-Star caliber player, like he was the last four years. He just cant be this.
Thosar: As much as I want to say fixing Kyle Tuckers season-long slump is the biggest priority, I actually think Mookie Betts getting hot at the plate is exactly what the Dodgers need down the stretch run. Hes the stabilizing force in the lineup, and weve seen Betts carry the offense when hes hitting well. Plus, the Dodgers seem to go as Betts goes. Hes batting .315 with an .888 OPS, three home runs and eight RBI over the past two weeks, and Los Angeles went 8-6 over that span. The Dodgers seem to find their footing and reclaim their momentum when Betts is right in the middle of their production.
Is Pete Crow-Armstrong just this good of a player, where hes a genuine MVP candidate who could lead a team to a World Series, or is there concern that another shoe will eventually fall?
Kavner: Can I say both? Right now, this version of PCA looks like a player capable of carrying a team to a championship. He is providing value in every way imaginable, and this is no longer a small sample of elite production. At the same time, with any player who has a history of chasing and is prone to swing and miss, theres always concern about a slump at some point. (Its easy to forget now, considering how he has played since, that Crow-Armstrong had a .669 OPS at the end of April and a .713 mark at the end of May.)
To his credit, PCA has followed his slow start to the year with three extraordinary months, during which he has registered an OPS over 1.000 in each of June (1.249), July (1.011) and August (1.002 entering Thursday). Thats a long stretch without any dramatic dips, and its not a coincidence that both his whiff and chase rates have been down considerably over that time. If he can keep those close to league average, he should remain a superstar and could be headed toward a 40-40 season. This looks like an MVP player right now.
Thosar: </stro
