Gavin Lux

Gavin Thomas Lux

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
High School Indian Trail High School
Debut September 2, 2019

Born November 23, 1997 in Kenosha, WI USA

Biographical Information[edit]

Infielder Gavin Lux was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers with the 20th overall pick of the 2016 amateur draft. He made his professional debut that year with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League, where he played 6 games, and with the AZL Dodgers, where he played another 48 games. Playing exclusively at shortstop, he hit a combined .296/.375/.399 in 56 games. In 2017, he spent a full season in the Midwest League, with the Great Lakes Loons, where he was one of the youngest regular position players in the league at age 19. He split his time between shortstop and second base and hit .244/.331/.362 in 111 games.

Lux took a big step forward in 2018 as he put up very solid numbers with both the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League and the Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League, reaching AA at age 20. He hit .324 in both stops in addition to 27 doubles, 8 triples and 15 homers in 116 games. He scored 85 runs and scored 57 to distinguish himself as a top prospect and justify his high draft rank. That year, he saw action mainly at shortstop, although he did play another 17 games at second base. He was named a mid-season and postseason All-Star in the California League, then was the Texas League Player of the Month in August following his promotion and also helped the Drillers win the TL title.

He was named to the roster of the National League team for the 2019 Futures Game. He played that season with Tulsa and the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers, hitting a combined .347 in 113 games, with 25 doubles, 8 triples and 26 homers, 99 runs and 76 RBIs. He was the player every other team wanted when the Dodgers were looking to upgrade their bullpen at the trading deadline, but he was considered untouchable. He was named the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year. He was called up to the Show when roster expanded on September 1, 2019 and made his debut the next day going 2 for 5 with 3 runs scored and a double in a 16-9 win over the Colorado Rockies. He played second base in that game after playing mainly shortstop in the minors. He hit .240 in 23 games in his first taste of the majors, and then went 2 for 9 with a solo homer in the Division Series in which the Dodgers were upset by the Washington Nationals. In 2020, he was widely expected to compete for a starting job on the Dodgers, but he ended up playing just 19 games during the pandemic-shortened season, and hit only .175 with 3 homers and 8 RBIs. He barely played in the postseason, with just one at-bat in the Division Series against the San Diego Padres (he struck out) as the Dodgers went on to win a World Series title.

He finally received significant playing time at the major league level in 2021, as the Dodgers moved him around between second base, shortstop and the outfield. He appeared in 102 games and hit .242 with 7 homers and 46 RBIs for an OPS+ of 85 - well below what was hoped for given his minor league pedigree. The Dodgers won 106 games that season but still managed to finish one game behind the surprising San Francisco Giants in the NL West. A slightly better performance on his part could perhaps have made up the difference. In any case, he just made a cameo appearance in the Wild Card Game against the St. Louis Cardinals before going 3 for 9 in the epic clash with the Giants in the Division Series. That series went to the limit with L.A. coming out on top, but he saw less action in the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves, going 0 for 5 in 3 games. 2022 was his first season as a true regular, as the second base job was mostly his, with a few appearances in left field to round things out. He played 192 games as the Dodgers won a division title, batting.276 with 6 homers and 42 RBIs. He led the National League with 7 triples and his OPS+ was 105, easily his best thus far. He also scored 66 runs. However, the Dodgers were the victims of a quick postseason exit, being upset by the Padres in the Division Series. He went 3 for 13 as the season ended on a disappointing note.

Many observers expected Lux to have a breakout season in 2023, as he was now a key player on the Dodgers with two previous competitors for the starting shortstop job, Corey Seager and Trea Turner, both gone (Seager had actually left as a free agent after the 2021 season, followed a year later by Turner). He was penciled in as the new starter, with off-season acquisition Luis Rojas at second, although flipping the two was also a possibility. However, just as Cactus League games were starting on February 27th, he was the victim of a knee injury while running the bases and had to be carted off the field and had to be taken to a local hospital for further tests. These provided more bad news as he was diagnosed with a torn ACL, which forced him to miss the entire season. When he returned in 2024, the Dodgers had decided to move RF Mookie Betts to shortstop and to put Lux at second base, expecting that putting him in a position with fewer defensive responsibilities would help him. He started the year slowly, hitting .182 in 23 games in March and April, and slugging an anemic .208. The Dodgers had a very strong top of the line-up, but Gavin's lack of production was clearly a concern. On May 7th, he finally hit his first homer of the season in an 8-2 win over the Miami Marlins. He hit just .213 in the first half of the season, but then got hot after the All-Star break to become one of the team's offensive leaders. On August 20th, he hit a strange home run off Bryce Miller in the 4th inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners at Dodger Stadium: the ball appeared to evade the glove of leaping OF Victor Robles and clear the fence, but when Robles tumbled to the ground, the ball appeared in front of him as if by magic. Gavin stopped at third base, but a video review confirmed that the ball had indeed left the yard, but had then made it back to the field through a small hole at the base of the fence; he was therefore allowed to complete his trot around the bases. It was his 10th homer of the season, after having hit only 3 in the first half.

He is a nephew of Augie Schmidt, who was also a top draft pick, in the 1982 amateur draft but who never reached the majors.

Notable Achievements[edit]

2019 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Tulsa Drillers and Oklahoma City Dodgers
NL Triples Leader (2022)
Won one World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020 (he did not play in the World Series)

Related Sites[edit]

Search

Namespaces

Views

Gavin Lux

Contents

Biographical Information[edit]

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

Related Sites[edit]

Full Site Menu

FAQs, Tip & Tricks