Dodgers drafting top outfield prospect Andy Pages

Throughout the spring, the Dodger I was amazed at how advanced the field prospect Andy Pages was recovering from shoulder surgery last season.

Just three weeks into the regular season, Pages’ major league debut is also coming sooner than expected.

Pages is expected to be called up by the Dodgers, several people with knowledge of the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly confirmed Tuesday, following an exciting start to the year in triple-A Oklahoma City that saw the 23-year-old Cuban native bat 371 with five home runs and 15 RBI in 15 games.

Although Pages was on track to make his Major League Baseball debut this year, his call-up came after just 16 total games at Triple-A over the past two seasons — and just 10 months after he underwent end-end surgery. of the season due to a torn labrum last June.

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Following that procedure, Dodgers officials entered this spring warning that Pages may need time to fully regain form.

Instead, after going eight-for-17 with two home runs in Cactus League play, the team’s top-ranked outfield prospect was named by the manager David Roberts last month as one of the club’s biggest surprises of the spring.

“I think given what he went through last year with the shoulder surgery and how he did this spring, that was the biggest pleasant surprise,” Roberts said of Pages, who is the team’s No. 3 overall prospect, according to the MLB Pipeline.

A career .262 hitter in the minors, Pages continued to step up his game with Oklahoma City.

After injuring his shoulder in his AAA debut last year, Pages dominated the level for two weeks this season. In 62 at-bats, he had 23 hits (nine of them for extra bases), eight walks and just 13 strikeouts. His 1.146 on-base plus slugging percentage was third best in the Pacific Coast League. He also split his time between two positions, playing center and right field, in a possible preview of what the Dodgers could ask of him in the MLB.

Pages’ arrival comes as the Dodgers look to bolster the bottom half of their lineup. Entering Tuesday, the team’s .187 batting average of its 6-9 hitters ranked fourth-worst in the majors. Depth in the outfield has also become a recent concern, with Jason Heyward on the injured list due to back injury and James Outman, Chris Taylor It is Kike Hernandez all fighting at the plate.

Between that and Pages’ impressive play this month, the path to an early call-up was suddenly paved. Pages is officially on his way to the majors. And the Dodgers are hoping he can help the bottom half of the order overcome their early-season malaise.

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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.