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How good is Cody Bellinger already?

On Saturday, Cody Bellinger's power stroke tied him with Gary Sanchez for most homers (19) in his first 50 games. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA Today Sports

Cody Bellinger is 21 years old, and he has been one of the very best players on the team that had MLB's highest Opening Day payroll. Bellinger is also the easy favorite to end up as the National League Rookie of the Year. It's worth noting that this isn't what the Dodgers envisioned for Bellinger.

Bellinger only got promoted in April because both Joc Pederson and Franklin Gutierrez were injured. The team said that when both those players were back, Bellinger would return to Triple-A. But Bellinger hit, and he didn't stop hitting. Pretty soon, Adrian Gonzalez had to go on the disabled list. Then Andrew Toles went on the DL. Then Gonzalez went on the DL a second time. And now Bellinger isn't going anywhere.