Dodgers: Hitting Coaches Discuss the Spring Struggles of Cody Bellinger

Two of the Dodgers hitting coaches are optimistic that Cody Bellinger's troubling spring would bleed into his regular season.

Opening Day is less than a week away for the Dodgers. That means that players should be rounding into regular season form by now and be ready to hit the ground running so to speak. 

One player that hasn't been at his best this spring is Cody Bellinger. After a rough 2021, but an encouraging postseason performance at the plate, Bellinger has reverted back to his regular season form this spring.

Belli did not appear in the Dodgers Cactus League game on Thursday, but prior to Friday's game, has 17 strikeouts in 27 at-bats. Yikes.

Despite his impressive parade of whiffs, the Dodgers hitting coaches still think he can return to his All-Star form. On Thursday, Rob Van Scoyoc and Brant Brown talked about Bellinger's tough spring performance in the batter's box. Brown thinks that Belli is still adjusting to his surgically repaired shoulder.

“The right shoulder is strong again, but also, it’s … just tighter than it was because it used to pop out. That’s kind of why this process is kind of going through what it is because he’s just trying to find his body.”

Many Dodgers fans have noticed that Belli is a tinkerer. He seems to constantly be changing his stance in the box, his hand positioning, and his bat angle - just to name a few. Van Scoyoc talked about how the team has given Belli the autonomy to make those kind of changes.

“If he wants to experiment, he’s his own person and if he comes up with a thought, he has a right to try that. It’s his swing, his career, and we’ve got to be there to help and support him even if you don’t necessarily think that’s the right thing at that moment.” 

It's an interesting comment since one could argue that Bellinger's tinkering is partly to blame for his hitting woes.

Manager Dave Roberts also sounded optimistic that Bellinger is close to rediscovering the swing that made him the 2019 NL MVP.

“I think where we’re at right now is – he’s healthy, he’s strong. Is there an adjustment, a recalibration with the body? Yes. But at the end of the day, we still have to find something that works, that is consistent, that gives him the best chance to be the best hitter he can be to help us win games.”

Baseball is a long season, but Cody needs to get dialed in sooner than later.