MLBBy Matt Clapp on

It’s entirely possible you’ve never heard of Max Muncy. Or, even if you’ve heard of Max Muncy, odds are you know little about him unless you’re a Los Angeles Dodgers fan.

So let’s learn more about Max Muncy!

* Max Muncy is a infielder/outfielder (primarily a second baseman now) that turns 28 years old on August 25. He entered 2018 with a career .195/.290/.321 slash line in the major leagues, with all of that production coming with the Oakland Athletics (2015-16). He was released by the A’s on March 31, 2017, and was signed by the Dodgers in April 2017. He spent all of 2017 in Triple-A.

* The lefty-swinging Baylor product was called up from Triple-A by the Dodgers on April 17, 2018.

* All he’s done with the Dodgers is put together a .281/.420/.649 slash line with 20 home runs in 231 plate appearances. For hitters with at least 230 plate appearances, Muncy ranks behind only Mookie Betts and Mike Trout in OPS (a nice 1.069), wRC+ (185), and wOBA (.442). His blazing .420 OBP also ranks third, and his 19.0 walk percentage is only behind Trout’s 19.7. His 3.2 fWAR is good for 12th among position players, despite playing only 63 games (fewer than anyone ranked ahead of him).

Simply put, Muncy has stunningly been one of the very best players in baseball since getting called up to the Dodgers in mid-April. And Muncy showed off his dong-mashing talents in the Dodgers’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, cranking homers No. 19 and 20 in his first two plate appearances:

Muncy’s home run/at-bat rate of 9.2 is better than a few players you may have heard of.

The Dodgers appeared to be in big trouble earlier in the season, especially when star shortstop Corey Seager was lost for the season to Tommy John Surgery. Seager was approximately a 6.5 fWAR player over the previous two years and the Dodgers’ best position player, at a premium position. Los Angeles isn’t going to replace what Seager provided them at shortstop, but they’re essentially getting the same overall value provided by Muncy.

After May 16, the Dodgers were 10 games under .500 (16-26) and 8.5 games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West. If they hang on to beat the Pirates tonight (leading 8-3 in the 8th at the time of this post), they’ll be 46-39 and just 1.5 games back. They’re back to being the favorites in the NL West, and that’s largely due to the out-of-nowhere elite production from Muncy. If he’s able to keep hitting anything like he has to this point, he’s going to be in the conversation for NL MVP.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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