Dodgers' Kendall George: On track for post-break return
Rotowire
George (knee) has been rehabbing at the Dodgers' spring training facility in Arizona and is on track to return after the All-Star break, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
George suffered an injury to his left patellar tendon in late May when he jumped out of the way to avoid Double-A Tulsa's bat-retrieving dog. He did not require surgery but is still about a month away from returning to Tulsa's lineup. George is hitting .333/.417/.397 with 26 stolen bases on the season.
... See More... See Less
Dodgers' Kendall George: Recovering from freak knee injury
Rotowire
George hasn't played for Double-A Tulsa since suffering an injury to his left patellar tendon in a May 25 game versus Northwest Arkansas, Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reports.
Shortly after crossing home plate to score a run in the game, George sustained the injury while jumping out of the way to avoid Tulsa's bat dog, who ran on to the field to retrieve the bat. Fortunately for George, an MRI revealed no ligament damage to his knee, and the Dodgers are optimistic that he'll avoid surgery. Even so, George still appears to be headed for an extended absence due to the knee injury, especially as a player heavily reliant on speed. Over 43 games with Tulsa this season, the 21-year-old outfielder has slashed .333/.417/.397 with 26 stolen bases in 29 attempts across 200 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Dodgers' Kendall George: Reaches 100 steals
Rotowire
George is slashing .295/.409/.370 with three home runs, 100 steals, a 16.3 percent walk rate and a 15.2 percent strikeout rate in 111 games for High-A Great Lakes.
His 100 steals easily pace the minor leagues, with Royals outfielder Asbel Gonzalez ranking second with 78 steals. George hit 60.3 percent of balls on the ground and 52.1 percent of balls to the opposite field, so while he has four career home runs in 225 games, he's usually not attempting to pull the ball in the air. George only swung at 39.4 percent of pitches, so his game is really all about getting onto first base by any means possible and using his speed from there. He has a below-average arm but is otherwise a quality defensive center fielder, so there are shades of Billy Hamilton and Chandler Simpson here, but George will face a tough challenge when he heads to Double-A for his age-21 season next year.
