Dodgers News: James Outman Talks About Swing Rebuild That Got Him Where He is Today
One of the biggest stories through five games this year for the Dodgers is the play of rookie outfielder James Outman.
Outman burst onto the scene last year, hitting a home run in his first at-bat, and going 6-for-13 in his short stint in the majors.
Then, he raked in spring training, earning himself a spot on the Opening Day roster, and even in the Opening Day lineup. And all he's done so far this season? Rake.
The 25-year-old is currently 4-for-12 with one home run, two triples, five RBIs and five walks. He has an incredible OPS of 1.417.
What's even more crazy than the impressive start to his MLB career is that he had to completely revamp his swing to get here in the first place. He talked to MLB Network's Alanna Rizzo about the adjustments he had to make.
"I think the biggest thing was learning how to relax in my swing, like letting my body sync up without me trying to tense up and force everything to happen," Outman said. And other than that, it was a total swing rebuild."
What did that rebuild look like?
"I think my hitting coaches do an unbelievable job of speaking my language, so they can kind of decipher what they want to see into what I like to hear, so they were just really good at that," Outman said. "And then just, relaxing my hands, relaxing my body, yeah, just getting more reps, too."
Whatever the Dodgers coaches did, it's seemed to work wonders on Outman. He's already established himself as one of the Dodgers best hitters this season, and he'll only get better the more reps he gets against major league pitching.
Outman is still playing in a platoon with four other outfielders vying for the two spots alongside Mookie Betts. But if he continues to swing the bat like this, he's going to find himself in the lineup more times than not moving forward.
