Welcome to the California Post’s weekly Dodgers recap, where we review the week that was, hand out very official awards and take stock of the state of the season.
PLAYER(S) OF THE WEEK
Teoscar Hernandez (10-for-19, 1 HR, 10 RBIs this week) and Mookie Betts (8-for-20, 2 HR, 7 RBIs this week)
There’s no hotter hitter in baseball right now than Hernández, who has continued his late-season resurgence by batting an MLB-best .514 over the last 10 games.
And outside of Hernández, there is no more encouraging player in the Dodgers’ lineup than Betts, who is mounting his own second-half turnaround with a .314 average and six home runs over his last 31 games overall.
Both have found consistency with their mechanics. Both have given the Dodgers some much-needed right-handed-hitting pop higher up the lineup.
It’s a big reason why, even though Shohei Ohtani missed all but one game last week with his ongoing injury, Freddie Freeman was slumping through his own knee problem, Andy Pages remained out with a broken hand and Kyle Tucker continued his season-long struggles, the Dodgers won a season-high seven straight games.
In six of those seven games, Betts or Hernández had the ultimately decisive go-ahead RBI.
As long as Ohtani and others remain hampered, the Dodgers will need both to continue their surges.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Can Hernández and Betts actually do that?
Both players, after all, have had similar flashes in the last two years.
But both have also failed to sustain such production over a more extended period.
This time, Hernández’s return to form feels, at least, easier to explain. He was having a fine start to the year before going down with a hamstring strain. He made a mechanical tweak that addressed resulting flaws in his lower-body mechanics. And he has replaced much of his midsummer frustration with a renewed infusion of confidence every time he steps to the plate.
“I never stopped working,” he said. “I knew at some point it was going to click.”
Betts has also been buoyed by his recent improvements, and the team’s uptick in recent play overall.
“I think that’s the beauty of this ballclub,” Betts said. “Just figure out ways to win, whether we’re hot or we’re not.”
Winning, of course, will be much easier for the Dodgers if Hernández and Betts keep hitting.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Edgardo Henriquez (3 scoreless appearances, 1 save, 5 strikeouts this week; 2.62 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 59 outings this year)
The Dodgers might have a new closer option to consider over the rest of the regular season.
Henriquez is not only throwing harder than ever, topping out at 104.5 mph this past week, but he’s also showing consistency in late-game situations, giving up just one run over his last 16 appearances (all but two of which have come in games decided by two runs or less).
It led to just his second ninth-inning save opportunity of the season on Sunday, when he worked around a walk with two strikeouts against the Nationals.
And now, it might have him in line to be among the Dodgers’ top right-handed leverage options in the playoffs, with his 2.62 ERA trailing only Tanner Scott in the team’s bullpen this year among pitchers with at least 25 innings.
PROSPECT OF THE WEEK
James Tibbs III (.294 average, 28 home runs, 99 RBIs, .957 OPS in Triple-A this year)
Tibbs may have gotten passed up by Double-A slugger Josue De Paula for a call-up to the majors this week. But he continued a standout campaign in Triple-A, where he ranks second in the Pacific Coast League in home runs, RBIs and OPS.
One factor that was working against Tibbs this week was his status as a non-40-man roster player.
De Paula also wasn’t on the 40-man but would have needed to be added this winter to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.
The same won’t apply to Tibbs until after next year, meaning the Dodgers could preserve a 40-man roster spot through this coming offseason by keeping him in the minors for now.
That might not have been the sole reason for their call-up decision this week, but it complicated Tibbs’ case.
