Projecting Cody Bellinger’s 2018 Season

Cody Bellinger had one of the most incredible rookie seasons in National League history. He burst on the scene and played in 132 games, becoming the lynchpin for a Dodgers offense that saw them become the most dominant team in the National League.

Bellinger showed unique versatility, logging games at first base, and all three outfield positions.

But the thing that will get the clicks on this post is that he’s Mr. Raw Power. Bellinger hit 39 home runs, which was the National League rookie home run record. The ball catcher guy Zach Hample was there for the record being broken.

Bellinger added 97 RBI, a .267/.352/.581 slash line for an OPS of .933 in his rookie campaign. Those ratios are absolutely eye-popping for a 21-year old player who plays his home games in a somewhat neutral offensive environment like Dodger Stadium. He added 26 doubles, four triples, ten stolen bases, and 64 walks. He crossed the plate 87 times. His first game played was April 25th.

So the question begs, what will Bellinger do in 2018? With the way things went in the postseason – his incredible game at the plate in Houston not withstanding – left many fans feeling like there’s a book that’s been developed on Bellinger.

Typically a conservative system STEAMER has him projected for the following: 36 HR, 99 RBI, 10 steals, .253/.340/.516 for 2018. In terms of everything but the batting average, sign me up right now. I think there is a fear that exists that he may not exhibit the type of power that he did in 2017, which is reasonable to expect.

So here goes, our best bet at Cody Bellinger in 2018:


155 games played, 100 runs, 31 homers, 101 RBI, .265/.344/.520 with 12 steals and 75 walks.

The strikeouts go up and the home runs come down. But over a true full season, Bellinger proves that the exceptional talent is real and still remains the Dodgers best run producer in his age-22 season. He’s one of the guys we can’t wait to see take the field most this upcoming season; and a guy we feel will be good for the better half of two decades.