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Jim Bowden, ESPN Baseball Analyst 7y

Cody Bellinger could be a difference-maker for the Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday called up one of the best prospects in baseball: Cody Bellinger. He is the premier first-base prospect in the minors with the potential to provide a .350 OBP, 30 home runs and 100 RBIs while also providing Gold Glove-caliber defense. The only problem is he's blocked by veteran first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. This is why in spring training the Dodgers worked him a lot in left field to give them a second option to play him.

Now that he's in Dodger blue, will he be in the bigs to stay? Well, let's hold off on that for a bit. But his potential talent was so alluring that it wasn't too far-fetched for me in February to think of him as the Dodgers' everyday left fielder:

"Here is where it gets tricky. To be conservative, the right move would be for Bellinger to start the year in Triple-A and be ready in case [Adrian] Gonzalez gets hurt in the middle of the season or once rosters expand in September. However, Bellinger's bat is ready now -- he's arguably the Dodgers' best hitter after Corey Seager.

That's where my bold prediction comes in. I think the Dodgers will play him in left field some during spring training and quickly realize that he is more than adequate out there. He will show them that he's a far more advanced run producer than any of their current candidates in left, such as Andrew Toles, Andre Ethier and Scott Van Slyke."

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