Andy Pages Deserves Praise for His Center Field Turnaround
After a rough start to the year, Pages has returned to form and emerged as one of the better overall players in MLB this year.
More often than not, baseball is a game defined by failure.
Success is often fleeting, and while many great players have been able to sustain a successful career at the major-league level, the average major-league career is incredibly short.
Even the most elite players in the history of the game have dealt with adversity between health concerns, cold stretches, and team performance.
In the case of young Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andy Pages, adversity has been a formidable and recurrent opponent.
Pages spent five years grinding his way through the minors, working his way up from rookie ball.
After the COVID-19 pandemic eliminated the possibility of a minor league season in 2020, he hit the ground running in 2021, posting a .933 OPS in 120 games in High-A.
Pages was added to the Dodgers’ 40-man roster in November 2022 after a stellar performance in Double-A and the Arizona Fall League.
Finally, he made it to Triple-A in 2023 and seemed likely to make a big-league impact sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, he would play just one game in Triple-A before suffering a torn labrum in his shoulder that required season-ending surgery.
Pages worked his way back to form, and on April 16, 2024, he earned himself a major-league promotion.
While Pages’ production was solid in his rookie year, the path forward in 2025 has been far from linear.
All stats taken before play on May 12.
Peaks and Valleys
On April 7, Pages found himself sitting on the bench for the first time this season.
Up until that point, he had been batting .118/.268/.147 while striking out over 34% of the time to begin the year. Questions began to swirl as to how much runway Pages would get to sort himself out.
Worse yet, his defense in center field had been shaky at best, culminating in a defensive miscue that drew the ire of Dodgers fans across the board.
In the bottom of the seventh inning in a close 7-6 game against the Phillies, Bryce Harper hit a ball to center field to lead off the inning.
Pages floundered and allowed the ball to drop for a double, putting the tying runner into scoring position. The Dodgers would go on to lose this game 7-8, making this misread sting all the more.
This ultimately prompted manager Dave Roberts to bench Pages to allow him to reset mentally.
In these first few weeks, Pages was reportedly mired in overthinking his mechanics and approach, in what Roberts described as “paralysis by analysis”.
He had extensive conversations with teammates, coaches, and staff, including former All-Star Raul Ibañez and fellow Dodgers’ outfielder Teoscar Hernández.
Finally, as a result of these conversations, mechanical tweaks, and a revamped approach, something clicked for Pages.
Shifting Into Gear
In the ensuing weeks, Pages has not only found his way back to form, but he has served as a spark plug for the Dodgers’ offense.
Since April 7, Pages is batting .340/.369/.575, good for a .945 OPS.
He has cut his strikeout rate down to 19.8%, and despite his early struggles has put up 2.0 bWAR on the season. This number eclipses his 2024 total of 1.3 WAR, demonstrating a remarkable improvement.
A large part of this increase in value has been the solidification of his outfield defense.
While defense was a primary concern for Pages early in the year, he currently leads the National League in defensive WAR relative to his position.
He has been particularly effective during his short time in right field, showcasing his arm strength (97th percentile) and improved defensive range (84th percentile).
This improvement has culminated in Pages’ overall fielding run value rocketing into the 92nd percentile.
Between his defensive improvement, baserunning value (95th percentile), and offensive output (81th percentile), Pages has silenced early critics of his performance.
Despite a frustrating beginning to the season, Pages has returned to form and emerged as one of the better all-around players in MLB this year.
Can Pages Keep It Going?
Given the drastic ups and downs of Pages’ performance this year, it is fair to question whether his turnaround is indicative of sustainable success.
While some of his underlying metrics point to regression being possible, he has made several improvements that inspire hope for the future.
In becoming more aggressive at the plate, Pages has seen impressive results. Pages has batted .389/.400/.630 in at-bats where he swings at the first pitch.
While his aggressive approach is more likely to put him in position to strike out, Pages has maintained an .819 OPS through 0-2 counts.
Pages has also demonstrated improvements against breaking pitches this year, batting .351 with a .412 wOBA against them. These marks are up from his .190 batting average and .240 wOBA against spin last year.
The changes he has made have also resulted in a slightly lower average launch angle, resulting in more line drives.
These changes bode well for Pages’ future as a major leaguer. While it remains to be seen whether his production will keep up, Pages has more than earned his seat at the table for the time being.
At just 24 years old, Pages is far from a finished product on the field, and the Dodgers’ organization has repeatedly emphasized its faith in his development.
His overcoming of adversity is emblematic of the grueling, yet rewarding, nature of baseball.
As with any player, his future in the game may be uncertain, but Pages certainly deserves credit for the work he has put in this year.
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