LOS ANGELES — Andy Pages meticulously developed his hitting prowess, half an hour at a time, within the confines of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ hitting laboratory at Camelback Ranch. Every day during spring training, Pages followed a precise regimen using the team’s Trajekt Arc pitching machine. Initially, he dedicated 10 minutes to simply discerning pitches. Following that, he spent another 10 minutes verbally identifying borderline pitches, not only determining if they were balls or strikes, but also if they were viable to swing at. Only in the final 10 minutes did he actually take swings.
This diligent effort served a clear objective. Pages had a breakout performance last summer, even presenting a case for an All-Star selection. However, a frustrating second half and a forgettable offensive postseason motivated him to evolve into a more complete hitter. His hard work is now demonstrably paying dividends.
“I feel like all those days and all those repetitions I took in spring training, they’re helping me right now,” Pages conveyed to The Athletic in Spanish.
Pages has launched into the season with an extraordinary start. Across 13 games, he boasts a .449 batting average with a 1.256 OPS. The method behind his success appears to be sustainable.
A closer look at four plate appearances during the Dodgers’ 8-7 walk-off victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday night illustrates precisely why.
“Oh gosh, man,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts remarked. “You just can’t say enough about what Andy’s done.”
First at-bat: Second-inning single against Kumar Rocker
To grasp the transformation in Pages’ hitting, it’s essential to recall his previous profile. Pages’ prospect status was largely built on his impressive power statistics. He was known as a slugging corner outfielder who recorded the highest average launch angle in the minor leagues and had a propensity for swinging and missing. This background makes his current evolution as a player all the more compelling to observe.
He restructured his physique and developed into a skilled defensive center fielder. Dodgers officials have frequently praised his adaptability, highlighting his ability to produce bat-to-ball contact when necessary.
“He’s adapted, evolved, adjusted in all fronts,” Roberts stated.
Pages’ primary asset, as described by hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc this spring, is his absolute “lack of fear at all.”
This fearlessness becomes evident in two-strike counts, even against a formidable pitcher like Texas’ Kumar Rocker, who possesses elite pitches. Pages found himself in a 2-2 count when Rocker placed a fastball on the outer half of the plate, a pitch that seemed to set up what came next. The right-hander then threw Pages a slider at the same height, but it broke more sharply and outside the strike zone.
When Pages is struggling, he typically chases and misses such a pitch, as he did on Wednesday, which marked his poorest outing of the season, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts against the Toronto Blue Jays.
This time, Pages maintained his weight back sufficiently to drive a hard-hit ground ball through the right side for a two-out single. His talent for utilizing the entire field is a significant skill — Pages had already accumulated six opposite-field hits before Friday, tying him for the major league lead. This hit gave him sole possession of that lead.
“If you look at all of baseball, to see how many times he’s hit balls from line to line, he’s got to be number one in that category,” Roberts asserted.
Second at-bat: Fifth-inning walk against Rocker
Pages did not undertake his new routine with the explicit goal of drawing more walks. In fact, through the first 12 games of the season, he had only walked twice.
However, Pages is demonstrably seeing more pitches per plate appearance. This increased patience naturally leads to more opportunities to find pitches he can effectively damage. Entering Friday, he was averaging 4.48 pitches per plate appearance, a notable increase from the 3.78 he averaged a year ago. Working deeper into counts won’t merely result in more walks; it will also help him integrate into the Dodgers’ characteristic “boa constrictor” offensive strategy, thereby exhausting opposing pitching staffs.
In the fifth inning, with the Dodgers trailing 4-1, Pages had a clear objective in mind. He proceeded to make something happen.
“(He) knows exactly what he wants to do every time he gets up to bat,” Roberts commented. “There’s complete clarity and just kind of letting him be himself as a ballplayer.”
Rocker was content to pitch low in the strike zone. After Pages swung at a slider in the dirt to begin the at-bat, he adjusted his focus. Rocker managed to throw only one pitch in the strike zone, and Pages ultimately drew a six-pitch walk, eventually coming around to score.
Third at-bat: Sixth-inning, two-run double against Robert Garcia
It’s still early, but Pages is swinging less frequently overall this season; he has swung at 47.9 percent of pitches this year, compared to 53.1 percent a year ago. This adjustment appears to strike an effective balance between being overly aggressive and overly passive.
In the sixth inning, the Dodgers had initiated a rally ahead of him while trailing 4-2. With two runners on base and one out, Pages was not going to swing just for the sake of it. He was patiently waiting for his pitch against the left-handed pitcher.
“I’m just trying to find the pitch that I can do the most damage on,” Pages explained. “It’s continuing my plan, and not changing it in the middle of the at-bat, and trying to wait for my pitch.”
Thus, Pages refrained from swinging when Garcia attempted a changeup just below the strike zone. Garcia then delivered another pitch belt-high over the plate, but it wasn’t the pitch Pages was looking for, so he held off. The same occurred with the subsequent two pitches — a fastball and a changeup, both thrown below the zone — bringing the count to 3-1.
Garcia, unwilling to concede to Pages in a favorable hitter’s count, attempted a backdoor slider. It caught a portion of the plate, but not enough to entice Pages into swinging.
With a full count, Pages was anticipating a fastball. When Garcia opted for another backdoor slider, Pages maintained his balance perfectly. Once again, he drove the outside pitch to the opposite field. The ensuing groundball resulted in a double down the line, bringing home both runners ahead of him and giving the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.
“If it’s velocity, if it’s spin, if it’s a right-hander, if it’s a left-hander, he has a different club to kind of attack any kind of (pitcher) or pitch,” Roberts stated. “That’s special.”
Fourth at-bat: Eighth-inning, two-run home run off of Luis Curvelo
Let there be no misunderstanding: Pages still possesses significant power, especially when he connects with the pitch he desires. His 27 home runs in 2025 ranked as the second-highest total on the Dodgers.
Pages’ first three appearances at the plate served as a testament to his patience, as he saw a total of 17 pitches and swung at only five of them.
With the Dodgers holding a slim 5-4 lead, Curvelo appeared more inclined to challenge Pages within the strike zone. So, he initiated with a sinker over the heart of the plate, which Pages observed for a called strike.
Curvelo then attempted another sinker, which somehow occupied an even more central part of the plate.
Pages crushed it, launching his team-leading fourth home run of the season, a blast that ripped through the night sky at Dodger Stadium to extend Los Angeles’s advantage to 7-4. Every ball Pages hit on Friday night was struck with considerable force — each departing his bat at 100 mph or faster — but none were hit harder than the 103.5 mph rocket he hit in his final at-bat.
Pages still needs to find the precise balance between his patient approach and his natural aggressiveness. However, his current strategy is undeniably proving effective.
“It’s a little difficult,” Pages admitted. “I feel like at some point I’m going to have to keep getting better at it because that’s what the best hitters in the game do. Obviously, I’m not perfect at it, but I’m trying to get better at it each day, and I feel better.”