At just 21-years of age and a little under a month into a big league career, Gavin Lux is finding his way. Furthermore, he spent the first month in the bigs trying to play his way into a postseason roster spot for the two-time NL champions.
Now if that isn’t a pressure-packed first month on the job, I don’t know what is.
While his stock in the game is solidified for 2020 – Lux is rated the number two prospect in the game according to MLB Pipeline – he yearns for more. Of course, he wants to be part of a team that returns to the World Series.
With Bill Plunkett of the OC Register, he talks about what this whole experience is like for a young player.
#Dodgers notes: Getting your feet wet in the big leagues is pressure enough. But Gavin Lux has also been playing with the possibility of a postseason roster spot as a reward.https://t.co/yEDG6YgHun
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) September 29, 2019
In regards to the pressure, Lux acknowledges that of course it’s there. Simply, it’s just something he doesn’t keep at the forefront of his mind. Keeping the focus on helping the team win has been a help.
“It’s hard not to think about it. It’s hard to try not to press a little bit,” Lux said. “You want to impress people and you want to be a part of what happens in the postseason. You want to help the team win in the postseason and you feel like you can do that.
You just go out there and try to take care of your business. But at the end of the day it’s hard not to think about what could happen in the next couple weeks.”
Currently – or at season’s end we should say – Lux finished with a .240 average and .705 OPS. Certainly, it was a decent audition in his first cup of coffee as a big leaguer; and for a guy trying to be part of postseason baseball. The youngster says that there was a learning curve to a degree.
“I think it was just a little bit of an adjustment period, comfort period. Now I feel like I can just go out there and play and have fun and not worry about anything, not try to do too much.”
Obviously, Lux factors into the Dodgers short and long-term success in a big way. Without question, we project him to be part of the postseason roster announcement. And that’s when we will learn more about the skills and make-up of the 21-year old future star. When the lights shine the brightest.
