The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best record in baseball at this point in the season, but a roster full of talent, it’s always worth thinking about what the future holds for this team.
Manager Dave Roberts recently spoke on rookie catcher Dalton Rushing, and the heights that he believes the young backstop can reach.
“He feels that he’s going to be a superstar,” Roberts said. “I love him in the box. He’s very confident. He controls the hitting zone, and he’s going to be a good one for a long time.”
Rushing is currently hitting .212 with an OPS+ of 88, which is below league average.
Recently, the young catcher seems to be heating up, totaling a .333 batting average in his last five games, with an OPS of .917 in that span.
However, he did go 0-for-4 at the plate in Saturday’s game against the Royals.
Roberts also spoke on the title of a ‘superstar’ and what it means to play like one. The skipper has been around superstars for many years in his MLB tenure, both as a player winning the 2004 World Series, to present day as he manages a lineup full of future Hall of Famers.
“I just think that he has talent,” Roberts said. “I think that superstars that I’ve been around, they have an edge and they have a chip. And I just think that he plays with an edge and a chip. He always feels he’s the best option, and that’s what some of the best have.”
His offense is one thing, but defensively, Rushing also shows his strength through calling games. Specifically, with Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the glowing review he had after Rushing caught his most recent gem.
“I think he was calling my strengths pretty well,” Yamamoto said. “And then the results I got today, that was just because of the way he called the game.”
Rushing is still finding his way in MLB, but after being the top prospect in L.A. for quite some time, it feels as though his big league stardom is imminent.
