On the same day that the baseball world received the devastating news that the Dodgers were going to be without star shortstop Corey Seager for the remainder of the 2018 season, there was another Dodger shortstop in the news … and the news was good.

Earlier in the day on Monday, it was announced that 20-year-old infielder Gavin Lux of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate – had been named the California League Player of the Week.

Lux, who was selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Indian Trail High School in his hometown of Kenosha, Wisconsin, merely posted a slash line of .417 / .517 / .708 for a remarkable 1.225 OPS. He also slugged one home run and four doubles, while collecting five walks and driving in six runs. The speedy infielder also stole a base in the six games in which he appeared last week.

Lux picked up his 13th RBI of the season with this single against the Lancaster JetHawks on Sunday afternoon at The Hangar in Lancaster. He added another on Monday night with an RBI single against the Modesto Nuts at LoanMart Field. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

If the name Gavin Lux sounds familiar to you, it well should. The 6′-2″ / 190-pound left-handed-hitting / right-handed-throwing infielder appeared in seven games with the Dodgers this past spring, during which he went 2-for-4 at the plate (.500), with a triple and a stolen base. He did not commit an error in five total chances as the Dodgers shortstop.

Although Lux can play both middle infield positions, he has spent most of his time at shortstop this season. Of the 23 games in which he has played thus far this season with the Quakes, 17 were at short and five at second base. (He was also the team’s designated hitter on Monday night). In those 23 games, Lux is 30-for-91 (.330), with an outstanding .431 on-base percentage and .451 slugging percentage for an above average .882 OPS. He also owns a .918 fielding percentage as a shortstop (six errors in 73 chances) and a .947 fielding percentage as a second baseman (one error in 19 chances) – not Corey Seager or Chase Utley-type numbers, but still respectable.

While it is highly unlikely that the Dodgers would call Lux up to fill the enormous void created by the loss of Seager (thus bypassing the Double-A and Triple-A levels), he most certainly put himself on the radar of Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi this past spring and, of course, with this Cal League Player of the Week thing. That being said, another former Dodgers first-rounder – 23-year-old right-hander Walker Buehler – made it from the lights of LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga to the lights of Dodger Stadium during the 2017 season, so it absolutely positively can happen.

Congrats, Gavin. See you at the Ravine soon.

…perhaps even sooner than we realize.