Dodgers Dugout: Justin Turner is a hitting machine

Assistant Sports Editor

May 28, 2019 8 AM PT

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and the Dodgers are on pace to win 108 games.

The Turner machine

Is it possible to be acknowledged as one of the best hitters on the Dodgers and still be underrated at the same time? I think it may be possible, because Justin Turner does not get enough credit for his consistent excellence at the plate.

Turner went five for five on Sunday to lift his average over .300 this season. Since joining the Dodgers in 2014, he has hit .305/.384/.500 in 667 games with the team. He hit over .300 the last two seasons and is on his way to doing it again. He has a 140 OPS+ since 2014, which means he has been 40% better than a league average hitter in that time. He plays solid defense (yes, we could nitpick and say he has missed balls he should have fielded this season, but it’s not always necessary to be a Debbie Downer).

Turner has played in 667 games and had 2,554 plate appearances since 2014 through Sunday. How do his numbers compare to the 179 other players who have had at least 2,000 plate appearances since 2014? Let’s take a look:

Batting average

1. Jose Altuve, .327

2. Michael Brantley, .312

3. J.D. Martinez, .307

4. Daniel Murphy, .30476

5. Justin Turner, .30468

6. Miguel Cabrera, .30409

7. Charlie Blackmon, .30384

8. DJ LeMahieu, .30255

9. Mike Trout, .30231

10. Buster Posey, .30216

In case you were wondering, here are the bottom five:

175. Curtis Granderson, .234

176. Logan Morrison, .233

177. Joc Pederson, .230

178. Mike Napoli, .227

179. Chris Davis, .213

OB%

1. Joey Votto, .430

2. Mike Trout, .424

3. Paul Goldschmidt, .404

4. Bryce Harper, .397

5. Freddie Freeman, .391

6. Kris Bryant, .387

7. Anthony Rizzo, .386

8. Justin Turner, .384

9. Miguel Cabrera, .383

10. Jose Altuve, .382

Bottom five:

175. Rougned Odor, .292

176. Alcides Escobar, .291

177. Yan Gomes, .290

178. Salvador Perez, .285

179. Chris Owings, .283

SLG%

1. Mike Trout, .588

2. J.D. Martinez, .581

3. Nolan Arenado, .567

4. Giancarlo Stanton, .556

5. Nelson Cruz, .540

6. Paul Goldschmidt, .531

7. Freddie Freeman, .522

8. Edwin Encarnacion, .520

9. Josh Donaldson, .51937

10. Kris Bryant, .51902

20. Justin Turner, .500

Bottom five:

175. Jon Jay, .3571

176. Adeiny Hechavarria, .3568

177. Erick Aybar, .349

178. Alcides Escobar, .344

179. Billy Hamilton, .329

OPS+

1. Mike Trout, 179

2. J.D. Martinez, 154

3. Joey Votto, 149

4. Giancarlo Stanton, 148

5. Freddie Freeman, 146

6. Nelson Cruz, 145

7. Paul Goldschmidt, 145

8. Bryce Harper, 142

9. Josh Donaldson, 141

10. Justin Turner, 140

Bottom five:

175. Yolmer Sanchez, 81

176. Adeiny Hechavarria, 80

177. Alcides Escobar, 72

178. Chris Owings, 71

179. Billy Hamilton, 69

After we all bow down to how great Mike Trout is, notice that Turner is one of the few players in the top 10 of three of the four categories, and he’s 20th in the other. Yet you rarely hear his name mentioned when it comes to listing the best hitters in baseball.

Sad news

Bill Buckner, 69, died Monday. He had Lewy Body Dementia. While many fans will remember as a gimpy, slow first baseman, longtime Dodger fans remember him as a fast outfielder. Unfortunately, multiple ankle injuries robbed him of his speed. Buckner stole 31 bases for the 1974 Dodgers and 28 for the 1976 team.

The Dodgers traded him to the Chicago Cubs before the 1977 season along with Jeff Albert and Ivan DeJesus for Rick Monday and Mike Garman.

I’m not going to talk about what most fans remember him for, except to provide this quote from Buckner about it:

“Life is a lot of hard knocks,” Buckner told USA Today in 2016. “There are a lot worse things happening than losing a baseball game or making an error, so it puts things in perspective. You learn forgiveness, patience — all the things you have to do to survive.”

The Dodgers released a statement Monday that said, “The Dodgers are saddened to hear about the passing of Bill Buckner, who died this morning after battling a long illness. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Buckner family.”

Buckner had 2,715 hits in his career, hit .289 and won a batting title with the Cubs in 1980, when he hit .324. He was a good player for a long time and may he rest in peace.

You can read more about Buckner by clicking here.

New catcher

It’s a big week for guys named Will Smith.

Not only is “Aladdin” doing boffo box office, but the Dodgers called up Will Smith (not related to Aladdin’s Will Smith), one of the top catching prospects in the game, and put Austin Barnes on the 10-day injured list with a strained groin.

Smith will get thrown into the fire right away, as he is penciled in as the starter for tonight’s game against the New York Mets. On the mound for the Dodgers: Rich Hill.

Smith is one of baseball’s best defensive catching prospects and is batting .290 with a .954 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, eight home runs, eight doubles and 28 RBIs in 38 games at triple-A Oklahoma City. He hit .233 with a .776 OPS, 20 homers and 59 RBIs in 98 games at Oklahoma City and double-A Tulsa in 2018.

“He’s doing a nice job using the whole field,” manager Dave Roberts said. “There’s some strength in the hands. He’s shortened the swing. He’s cut down on the swing-and-miss at the fastball in the strike zone.”

Andrew Toles

Andrew Toles has left Camelback Ranch and is spending time with his family, Roberts said on Sunday. Toles missed all of spring training for personal reasons and had returned to the Dodgers’ spring training facility last month to get back into playing shape. He remains on the restricted list, which basically means the Dodgers retain the rights to him while not having to place him on the 40-man roster.

Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp, who got off to a horrible start in Cincinnati and was released, has signed with the New York Mets and is at the team’s spring training facility in Florida to get into shape. He was on the IL with a broken rib when the Reds let him go.

NL West standings

A look at the NL West standings after Monday’s games:

Dodgers, 36-18, ---

Arizona, 28-26, 8 GB

San Diego, 28-26, 8 GB

Colorado, 25-27, 10 GB

San Francisco, 21-31, 14 GB

If the season had ended Monday, Atlanta would play at Milwaukee in the wild-card game, with the winner taking on the Dodgers in one NLDS. The other NLDS would feature Chicago at Philadelphia.

In the AL, Oakland or Boston would play at Tampa Bay in the wild-card game, with the winner taking on Minnesota in one ALDS. The other ALDS would feature Houston at New York.

These names seem familiar

What recently departed Dodgers are doing around the league (through Sunday):

Travis d’Arnaud, Rays, .083/.154/.083, -31 OPS+

Brian Dozier, Nationals, .213/.307/.367, 75 OPS+

Kyle Farmer, Reds, .234/.275/.516, 101 OPS+

Logan Forsythe, Rangers, .294/.408/.468, 126 OPS+

Yasmani Grandal, Brewers, .269/.378/.494, 127 OPS+

Daniel Hudson, Blue Jays, 3-2, 4.01 ERA

Tim Locastro, Diamondbacks, .292/.500/.375, 135 OPS+.

Matt Kemp, Mets, .200/.210/.283, 28 OPS+.

Manny Machado, Padres, .267/.349/.440, 114 OPS+

Yasiel Puig, Reds, .218/.260/.391, 68 OPS+