Dodgers Fans Believe James Outman Should Be on the Opening Day Roster

The fans love them some James Outman.

One of the biggest bright spots of Dodgers spring training thus far has been the play of outfielder James Outman. The 25-year-old burst onto the scene late in 2022, and was red hot over the course of his four games in the big leagues. He then went back down to the minor leagues, where he hit for the cycle twice in one week.

Early in spring training, Outman has picked up where he left off. Through his first 13 at-bats, he's slashing an incredible .462/.529/.846 with a home run, a triple and four RBIs. Here's a good side-by-side of his 13 at-bats in the MLB last season, and his first 13 of spring training this season.

James Outman’s 13 MLB at-bats in 2022:

.462/.563/.846
6 hits
1 HR
2 doubles
3 RBIs
2 walks
7 Ks

James Outman’s first 13 at-bats of 2023 spring training:

.462/.529/.846
6 hits
1 HR
1 triple
4 RBIs
2 walks
3 Ks

Call me crazy but I don’t think the Dodgers outfielder is a fluke.

— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) March 5, 2023

Obviously 26 at-bats is a very small sample size, but clearly, Outman has the talent. And over on Dodgers Nation's Twitter, they ran a poll with over 3,000 responses asking a simple question: "Do you think James Outman should be on the Opening Day roster?" The responses were pretty staggering.

Do you think James Outman should be on the Opening Day roster?

— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) March 5, 2023

An incredible 95.9 percent of Dodger fans think Outman should be on the Opening Day roster, while just 4.1 percent of them said no. Here were some of their reasonings:

Couldn’t hit the “yes” button fast enough brother. Now let’s show Dave Roberts this poll, because we know how he’ll vote

— nonya (@norcalpenguin) March 5, 2023

What must the guy do to prove he’s worth a shot? Don’t hold him back

— David Chae (@hobblesdc29) March 6, 2023

No doubt

— Lyric (@PreacherLyric) March 6, 2023

Some fans had even higher hopes than him just being on the Opening Day roster.

Opening day CF/LF

— Ruben (@rubenchavira) March 5, 2023

And then, of course, there's the fan who went a little too crazy with their answer.

I feel like Clayton Kershaw is a bit more of a lock to make the roster over Outman, but this fan is clearly very confident with Outman being there on Opening Day.

Either way, it's very clear that Dodger fans want Outman on the roster, and think he deserves a chance to compete for consistent playing time. If his bat continues to stay hot like it is right now, I don't think there's any way the Dodgers can leave him off come Opening Day.