Dodgers rookie Miguel Vargas soaks up first postseason experience

Considering the fact that he confirmed up in the key leagues total time a month ago, Miguel Vargas’ pregame get the job done has largely stayed the exact.

The Dodgers rookie will be among the very first gamers on the industry, his long curly hair flopping all over by means of a sequence of fielding drills at all four infield positions, then get the job done out across the outfield.

He’ll converse with foundation coaches Dino Ebel and Clayton McCullough, and alternate reps with veteran teammates like Trayce Thompson, Mookie Betts and Hanser Alberto.

Then, as initially pitch nears, he’ll be one of the previous to acquire batting exercise, unleashing towering drives with a tantalizing right-handed swing that has designed him one of the much more extremely touted prospective buyers in the sport.

Every single day, the regime bears one more lesson, an additional suggestion, an additional component of large-league existence that Vargas hadn’t right before regarded as.

If his time as a September simply call-up counted as an introductory course, then this 7 days feels a lot more like honors-amount function when he grew to become the only rookie to make the Dodgers’ Countrywide League Division Sequence roster.

“A pair months back, I was in OKC, seeking to get my debut, and now I’m listed here, on the roster for the postseason,” Vargas stated in the Dodgers dugout Wednesday, with a solitary cross hanging from his still left ear and a wide smile planted on his confront. “It was a prolonged way. It means a great deal. I never even have the words to explain it.”

Vargas arrived in the Dodgers clubhouse late in the period with significant anticipations. He was the team’s No. 3 overall prospect, in accordance to MLB Pipeline, and a consensus top-100 expertise in the slight leagues.

He’d torn up triple-A pitching, batting .304 with 17 residence operates and 82 RBIs in his to start with year with Oklahoma Metropolis.

In his Aug. 3 debut with the Dodgers, he followed up a double in his to start with at-bat with an rapid, and unplanned, steal of 3rd base.

“To have this youthful enthusiasm,” manager Dave Roberts mentioned that working day, “it sort of injects that pleasure in all of us.”

The relaxation of Vargas’ debut marketing campaign wasn’t as flashy.

He batted just .170 about 18 online games, accumulating a dwelling run and eight RBIs while hanging out 12 moments in 50 plate appearances.

His location on the NLDS roster was no guaranteed thing after the Dodgers completed the 12 months with a nicely-outlined team of 13 veteran placement players.

Dodgers 3rd baseman Justin Turner, still left, and Miguel Vargas embrace prior to a latest game at Dodger Stadium.

(Wally Skalij / VFAB)

Nevertheless Vargas’ prospective at the plate, pace on the bases and skill to play in the outfield — even while his defense continues to be his largest weak spot — had been plenty of to earn a nod over Alberto.

“He has been unbelievable given that he has been up listed here just possessing discussions with guys … staying a sponge and soaking it all in,” Justin Turner reported before the collection. “I have a emotion he is likely to acquire some great at-bats for us. Some big at-bats for us.”

That has not happened yet. Vargas didn’t get started Games 1 or 2, and in the latter was bypassed for an eighth-inning pinch-hit predicament in favor of backup catcher Austin Barnes.

Vargas’ major-league education and learning, on the other hand, hasn’t stopped. The on-the-area, in-the-dugout and at the rear of-the-scenes lessons carry on. And so significantly, he has relished each minute.

“Playing all over these fellas here, you can see the expertise, you can see the mentality they have,” Vargas said. “It’s generally like, I discover a thing new each individual day, a thing that can enable me.”

Ironically, it’s Alberto who has develop into a single of the rookie’s greatest mentors.

A seventh-calendar year veteran whose infectious positivity has lifted the Dodgers clubhouse all year, Alberto immediately took Vargas under his wing when the rookie joined the staff.

He would invite Vargas to hit with him in the cage, or take the discipline early for drills.

He aided bridge the gap involving the 22-12 months-aged prospect and a roster with an common age of just about 30.

As one of the several veteran Latino players on this year’s Dodgers group, Alberto shared his possess ordeals as a young participant with the promising Cuban native.

“He’s that individual that always attempts to help you,” Vargas mentioned.

That did not alter adhering to Tuesday’s announcement that Vargas experienced conquer out Alberto for the team’s remaining roster place.

“He’s a shiny spot for the long run,” Alberto claimed in Spanish. “I believe this scene is vital for him.”

Miguel Vargas stretches prior to his Dodgers debut Aug. 3.

(Gary Coronado / VFAB)

In advance of Sport 1, Vargas and Alberto, who is continue to with the club in scenario of an injuries, achieved future to the cage during batting apply. They shared a chortle, a handshake and an embrace. Then, for the next several minutes, they knelt down facet by side, deep in conversation in advance of Vargas’ first massive league playoff game.

“When he has the option to enjoy just about every working day and be a hero for the crew [in the future], take pleasure in it, but with no forgetting about the perform, the discipline, all that,” Alberto stated. “We’re often talking. He’s a younger dude. The great factor is, he constantly listens, he’s attentive.”

When questioned how complicated it was to skip the NLDS roster, Alberto referred back to Vargas’ potential yet again.

“At the end of the day, I’ve always been crystal clear that I handle what I can,” he explained. “They know Miguel can perform outfield and he’s rapid, which is very essential. But I’m good. The crucial point here is to acquire. And I’m heading to be all set.”

In the meantime, he’s been aiding his most recent teammate prepare for his very first October instant, too, adding to the continuous stream of key league wisdom that Vargas carries on to take in although awaiting his following possibility.

“They made me sense so snug in the clubhouse, on the industry,” Vargas explained. “That’s why we’re the very best staff. These guys, on and off the area, they are astounding.”

Personnel author Jorge Castillo contributed to this report.