Gavin Lux is one of baseball’s big time prospects. Despite making his big league debut in September, and making the Dodgers postseason roster in October, who the starter will be at second base in 2020 remains a question mark for LA. Moreover, it’s a question that likely won’t be answered until the latter weeks of spring training.
However, a fan had the question for Lux already. Last week at a Veteran’s Day event hosted at Dodger Stadium, the rookie was posed the question: “who’s gonna be the starting second baseman for the Dodgers in 2020?”
Gavin Lux gets asked by a fan "who's the 2nd baseman next season."
Lux: "I plead the 5th! …but I'm hoping it's me." pic.twitter.com/voqTbUMIVF
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) November 11, 2019
The question was met with some laughter, followed by a smart answer from the young infielder.
I plead the fifth! …hopefully me though — I’m working towards it.
While the 21 year-old is not lacking in confidence in any way, avoiding proclaiming yourself as the starting 2B in mid-November is definitely the best call to make in this situation.
After slashing .347/.421/.607 (1.028 on-base-plus-slugging) with 26 home runs in the minor leagues in 2019, things didn’t come quite as easy for Gavin in his first go-around with major league pitching. He did score 12 runs and connect on 2 home runs — his first being a solo shot on the day the Dodgers clinched their seventh straight division title — but he posted only a .705 OPS in 23 games.
It’s safe to say that Lux will get an opportunity to secure the opening day starting role at second, but with the Dodgers there is always competition. With Justin Turner potentially moving to first base, Max Muncy might be looked at as the guy for the keystone. Of course, Kiké Hernandez got the lion’s share of starts at second in 2019, and is always given more than a fair shot to earn time at the position. Chris Taylor remains an exceptional defender as well.
Given the Dodgers tenacity to overstock on depth, there is the small chance that Lux could see time back at Triple-A to start the season, but it’s safe to say that there’s not much more left for him to prove in the minors.
