The outfield in LA hasn't exactly been constant. Joc Pederson's been the most consistent guy in there. Andre Ethier's been out all season with injuries, Yasiel Puig just got back from the DL, Carl Crawford got DFA'd, and the guys they had on hand as backup outfielders, like Scott Van Slyke and Enrique Hernandez, have been doing pretty damn poorly.
The only two good outfield reinforcements have been from some highly unlikely places. Howie Kendrick's played some games in the outfield thanks to Chase Utley coming in and becoming the starting 2nd baseman, and he's done comparatively well. The other guy nobody could have predicted becoming the outfield standout...is Trayce Thompson. Klay's brother.
The guy's hit 11 home runs since coming up, has played some really nice defensive ball, and has made a case for just playing every day instead of playing every other and coming in whether Hernandez runs out of steam. The guy has just shot out, out of absolutely nowhere, which is pretty nice--anything to give the Dodgers some publicity.
I think this is important, because the momentum coming out of this Dodgers team can't all come from the pitching. Kershaw, Maeda, Urias and Kazmir can only do so much, and Kenley Jansen can only have so many saves. Most of the lineup is slacking this year, and if people like Trayce Thompson, Adrian Gonzalez and Corey Seager can keep at it, the rotation won't have to do all the work.
Still, the month he's having is definitely a good sign.
Coming Tomorrow- He had one hell of a streak back there, and he's STILL as hot as hell.
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