The Dodgers have a problem. They have guys who, although perhaps not the best players defensively at their respective positions, are absolutely tearing it up offensively with their red-hot bats.

How is this a problem, you ask?

Allow me to elaborate.

There is absolutely no way that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts cannot have Max Muncy‘s bat in his everyday lineup; within reason, of course. I mean, let’s be real here, everybody needs a blow every now and then. Heaven knows, in order to keep guys healthy and reasonably well rested for the postseason is not something to be taken lightly. Then again, you have to get to the postseason before you can win in the postseason, right?

All the 27-year-old Midland, Texas native has done is hit more home runs than any other Dodger except for first baseman Cody Bellinger, with whom he is tied at 15. But in addition to his ‘where-the-heck-did-this-come-from’ power bat, Muncy also leads the team in walks with 37, one more than Bellinger.

But here’s the kicker – Muncy wasn’t even called up to the Dodgers from Triple-A Oklahoma City until the 16th game of the season which, quite frankly, may have cost him an All-Star Game spot.

In the 55 games in which Muncy has appeared, he is 41-for-159 (.258), has a team-high .399 on-base percentage, and a team-high .591 slugging percentage, for a team-high .990 OPB. Like I said, there is no way that Dave Roberts cannot have Max Muncy’s bat in his everyday lineup.

But Muncy is not the best defensive player at any of the multiple positions that he plays. Oh sure, he plays a pretty good first base, but not Cody Bellinger good. He also plays a pretty good third base, but not Justin Turner good. And although he has only played four games at second base thus far, he has one error at the position and just doesn’t appear to be quite as comfortable there as he does at first, third, or even in the six games he has played in the outfield.

But the bottom line is that if the Dodgers want to carry their remarkable June run into July and beyond, Roberts must, absolutely must have Muncy’s bat in there (almost) every day – period.

Two of Muncy’s 15 home runs came in consecutive games in the just-concluded three-game sweep of the New York Mets at Citi Field (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

And then there’s Kiké Hernandez.

Here again, all the extremely popular 26-year-old San Juan, Puerto Rico native did in Monday night’s 2-1 win over the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium was hit his sixth home run in his last 13 games and his 13th on the season – a new career high.

Kiké’s second-inning solo home run on Monday night was his career-high 13th and his sixth since June 1.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)

But unlike Muncy, Hernandez is an excellent defensive player wherever Roberts plugs him in.

“Kiké for us, on this run, has been as valuable – if not more valuable – than anyone on our club,” Roberts told reporters following Monday night’s win, the Dodgers fourth in a row. “For him, it’s hard to get him out of the lineup now.

“The defense has never been in question,” Roberts added. “He’s always hit left-handed pitching, but the mechanical approach, adjustment against right-handed pitching, that, for me, has been the game-changer. He’s hitting good right-handed pitching. He’s hitting homers. He’s going the other way when he needs to. He’s staying away from the punch.”

That defense was front and center on Monday night when Kiké made two brilliant plays at shortstop, one a high-hop grounder that few shortstops would have made, which turned into a force out at second base, and then an equally outstanding 6-4-3 double play on the very next play to strand what would have been the go ahead run at third base.

“Baseball is all about feel and about timing,” Hernandez said. “And when you’re playing like every other night or once every three days, it’s hard to stay feeling good. Luckily, I’ve been staying in there, and hopefully I can ride it out as long as I can.”

There is no disputing that the Dodgers desperately miss two-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger shortstop Corey Seager. But the simple truth is that his absence due to season-ending Tommy John surgery opened the door for Muncy, Hernandez, and fellow utility man Chris Taylor, who also homered on Monday night, a pinch-hit solo blast in the bottom of the eighth inning that proved to be the game winner. All three of these guys have stepped up big time while Seager is on the shelf until, presumably until next spring.

Keep it going guys!