With the 2015 season now nine games old for the 6-3 Dodgers, utility outfielder/first baseman Scott Van Slyke has had the fewest number of at-bats of any non-pitcher currently on the team’s 25-man roster. The extremely popular 28-year-old Chesterfield, Missouri native and son of former major leaguer Andy Van Slyke is 2 for 7 (.286) with three walks and one hit-by-pitch in his 11 plate appearances through the Dodgers first nine games. But while most major leaguers might be unhappy or even complain about their limited roles, Van Slyke fully understands and accepts his.

“They’ve been pretty straightforward with me that it’s going to be very similar with last year,” said Van Slyke prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners – the team for which his father is a coach. “I’m going to play when a guy needs a day [off] here and there, if the match-up is right I’ll play, but it’s going to be very similar to last year I think. But then, I might play a lot less than last year if people stay healthy and everything goes to plan, that’s where I’m at.”

In a kind gesture, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly and Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon allowed father and son Andy and Scott Van Slyke to exchange line-up cards for Tuesday night’s game. Both later said that it was a very emotional moment. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The problem for the younger Van Slyke is that even though Dodgers manager Don Mattingly knows that Scott has been very successful against left-handed pitching, the Dodger skipper has all but overlooked him against right-handers.

“He’s here really to punish left-handers,” Mattingly told reporters last May. “Right now, that’s what he’s doing. That’s his job really, is to hit left-handed pitching.”

Scott Van Slyke is ‘The Punisher.’
(Image courtesy of Marvel Comics)

But while the numbers confirm that Van Slyke does indeed punish lefties, he has also done well against righties too. In 2014 Van Slyke hit .315 (34 for 108 with eight home runs) against left-handers and .279 (29 for 104 with three home runs) against right-handers – a fact that seems to have been been lost on Mattingly.

“I faced more right-handers than left-handers this spring,” said Van Slyke. “I know I can hit right-handers if given the opportunity.”

Van Slyke’s 2015 spring training numbers clearly bear this out; clear to everyone except perhaps Don Mattingly. Although Van Slyke did indeed punish lefties during spring training (.417 with two home runs), he also did quite well against right-handers (.333 with one home run). But what jumps out at you is that Van Slyke had 36 at-bats against right-handers this spring compared to 12 against lefties. This tends to suggest that the right-handed hitting Van Slyke punishes right-handers too.

On Wednesday night, Van Slyke proved his point when he got a rare start against Seattle’s hard-throwing right-hander Taijuan Walker. The move was not based on a change of heart by Mattingly but rather out of necessity. Star outfielder Yasiel Puig was held out of the starting line-up for a second straight day due to a hamstring issue and regular left fielder Carl Crawford was out with a minor ankle issue, although he did pinch hit in Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the Mariners (he struck out). Van Slyke went 2 for 4 on the night that included a key two-RBI double in the first inning off of Walker that just missed leaving the ballpark. He also made a couple of outstanding defensive plays in left field as well.

Van Slyke just missed his first home run of the season on Wednesday night settling instead for a two RBI double off of Mariners right-hander Taijuan Walker. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although Mattingly insists that Van Slyke and his other utility bench players will get plenty of playing time and at-bats this season, it might behoove Mattingly to re-evaluate his “punish[es] left-handers” mentality with Van Slyke and allow him to punish right-handers too.