Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez doesn’t figure to be going anywhere anytime soon. After all, he is the Dodgers most consistent and reliable hitter and is the unofficial leader in the Dodgers clubhouse – although you will never get him to admit this; not to mention the fact that he is under contract with the Dodgers through the 2018 season. In fact, counting this season, the Dodgers still owe the extremely popular 33-year-old San Diego native $85 million on his existing seven-year/$154 million contract that they inherited when they acquired Gonzalez from the Boston Red Sox in August of 2012 – and this doesn’t include the additional $100,000 he already received and could still receive for each Gold Glove award that he wins. But let’s be honest here, AGon is, in all likelihood, on the downhill side of his stellar 12-year MLB career.

Now this certainly isn’t to say that Gonzalez doesn’t still have a few good years left in him; in fact, he is on pace to be in the running for the 2015 NL MVP award, but in terms of his baseball shelf life, the clock is slowly winding down for the probable future Hall of Famer.

Although it’s never a pleasant thought, Father Time eventually catches up with even the best of them – and Adrian Gonzalez is definitely among the best of them. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

The thought of an AGon-less Dodgers team is both unpleasant and uncomfortable. But there is a young first baseman in the Dodgers minor league system who is already showing flashes of greatness, and when I say young, I mean young – 19-year-old Cody Bellinger who, in spite of his age, is already playing for the Dodgers Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and is absolutely tearing up Cal League pitching.

If the name Bellinger sounds familiar to you, it well should. Cody is the son of Clay Bellinger, who spent four years in the major leagues as a utility infielder/outfielder with the Yankees and Angels and was a member of the 1999 and 2000 World Champion Yankees and the 2002 World Champion Angels. That’s three World Series rings in his four big league seasons.

Cody was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft (124th overall pick) out of Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona. He immediately captured the attention of the Dodgers brass in 2014 when he split time between the Arizona Rookie League Dodgers and the Pioneer Rookie League Ogden Raptors posting a combined triple-slash of .312/.352/.474 for an impressive .826 OPS. On defense he committed only seven errors in 457 total chances for an above average .985 fielding percentage. So impressed were the Dodgers with young Cody that he began the 2015 season with the Quakes, having never played even one game with the Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons.

Bellinger has played in all but one of the Quakes 49 games this season and is currently sporting a .291 batting average, a .358 on-base percentage, a .538 slugging percentage for a very good .896 OPS. He currently leads the team in games (48), at-bats (182), runs (40), hits (53), home runs (9), RBIs (37), total bases (98) and walks (20); and is second in doubles (14). In the Cal League he is second in games and hits, third in RBIs and fifth in home runs. On defense, Belly (as his teammates call him) has made only four errors in 354 chances in the 38 games he has played at first base (.989 FPCT) and zero errors in 23 chances in the 10 games he has played in the outfield (1.000 FPCT) – mostly in center field. He has flashed signs of brilliance at both defensive positions as well.

Even though Bellinger can play multiple positions, the Dodgers would be foolish not to develop him as a pure first baseman. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

On Saturday night, Bellinger’s first-inning double against the Bakersfield Blaze (Mariners) knocked in what would prove to be the game-winning run in the Quakes 3-1 victory. And then on Sunday, his seventh-inning RBI single provided a huge insurance run in yet another 3-1 win over the Blaze.

Bellinger’s RBI double proved to be the game-winner on Saturday night.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Prior to Saturday night’s game, former MLB catcher and manager and Dodgers current Special Advisor to the GM Pat Corrales called Bellinger “A good little ball player,” although Cody is anything but little. He stands 6’4″ and currently weighs in at 180 pounds. I say currently because at 19 years old he will undoubtedly continue to fill out and may even grow another inch or two – a very valuable asset for a major league first baseman (AGon is 6’2″ – 220 pounds).

With MLB-caliber position players a rare commodity in the Dodgers farm system – especially at first base – Bellinger has all the makings of a top-tier first base prospect and is definitely someone to keep an eye on over the next couple of seasons. And the timing couldn’t be better – Cody is at least two years away from being MLB-ready and in two years Gonzalez will be closing in on the final year of his contract with the Dodgers.

And who knows, maybe one day we’ll hear a Security Benefits commercial asking “How bout that Bellinger homer?” – which might not be all that “Unbelievable.”