Max Muncy goes from bleak to breakout
By Zach Houle
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been underwhelming this season, but first baseman Max Muncy has been quite the opposite.
For slugger Max Muncy, it’s been a long and windy road to success. Starting out as an Oakland Athletics prospect, he was a guy that showed power but was inconsistent. Now, he has turned himself into a star. The Dodgers picked him up on a whim for a bench bat. From there, he forced his way into the lineup utilizing his power.
This season, the slugger has mashed 20 home runs and knocked in 38 RBI in 63 games. It’s very likely that he could swat 40 this year. With that said, Muncy has been a reliable power source for the Dodgers along with Matt Kemp. LA has lost key guys due to injury, but Muncy and Kemp have kept them a float.
The first baseman has revitalized his stock with LA, and the club has gotten the most out of him. Also, he still has several years of club control left at the major league level. Furthermore, Muncy won’t be very expensive to keep around. The Dodgers are in the mix for Manny Machado, who will be another big bat to have in their lineup.
Muncy isn’t a household name, but it could be this year. The Dodgers had a similar case last year with Chris Taylor, who went from hitting 1 home run in two years to 21 last season. (Applause to LA’s hitting coach everyone.) The slugger is arguably the biggest breakout player of the year and has continued to put up numbers.
Here is what superstar Clayton Kershaw said of Max Muncy after hitting his 20th home run of the season from ESPN:
"“We knew Max was a good hitter, but I don’t think anybody in the world would expect this. He’s the best hitter in baseball right now. I don’t think anybody could argue with that."
With that said, the best pitcher in baseball and anointing the best hitter in baseball at the moment is Max Muncy. That’s pretty good to receive praise like that, considering no one knew his name a year ago.
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Overall, Max Muncy has gone from unnoticed to national attention. He is a player to watch for the rest of the season and into the next. The slugger deserves an All-Star spot with his huge turnaround. Without further adieu, let the Max Muncy sequel continue to thrive Hollywood.