The James Outman era has been fun so far for Dodgers fans. Coming off of years of struggle with Cody Bellinger in center field, it’s certainly been a breath of fresh air. If you squint your eyes and make things a little blurry, you might be able to see some comparisons with the start of Outman’s career and Bellinger’s six seasons back.
Both are lefty sluggers that possess all five tools on the field. Both also came up at interesting times for LA’s roster. In 2017, Dave Roberts was tasked with navigating a roster overstuffed with veterans a little past their prime (Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley, Andre Ethier) and younger players fighting for playing time (Kiké Hernandez, Kyle Farmer, Alex Verdugo, Bellinger).