Every time it seems like Gavin Lux can’t have a better week this summer, he does.
The 21-year-old Indian Trail graduate, who made his Major League debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sept. 2, had another prosperous stretch of days this week as a season he’ll never forget winds into mid-September.
First, Lux was bestowed a prestigious honor when he was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year on Monday.
Then, on Tuesday night in Baltimore, Lux smacked his first big-league home run, a 400-foot solo shot to right-center with two outs in the top of the fifth inning off Tanner Scott at Camden Yards.
“When I hit it, I kind of knew I got it,” Lux told Zachary Silver of mlb.com. “It’s a little weight off your shoulders. You want to get it out of the way.”
Helpful advice
Lux’s homer was part of a three-hit night, as he finished a triple shy of the cycle. It was a welcome night for Lux, who had just one hit in 15 at-bats entering Tuesday since collecting two in his Major League debut.
“Me and (Dodgers manager Dave) Roberts were talking, (and he said), ‘You seem super patient right now. Go in there and swing it, get after it,’” Lux said. “That kind of switched my mindset.”
Lux’s homer also landed in the glove of a Dodgers fan, so he was able to retrieve the milestone ball for a signed bat and some balls.
Oh, and not to be forgotten, the Dodgers won, 7-3, which clinched their seventh consecutive National League West title.
Less than two weeks into his big-league career, Lux got to experience the locker-room celebration of beer and champagne spray, something players can take years to experience, if ever.
Of course, by just being called up, Lux was virtually guaranteed to be on a division winner, as the Dodgers were already miles ahead in the West.
The Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year award, however, is a tribute to the totality of Lux’s fourth professional season.
Drafted 20th overall out of high school by the Dodgers in 2016, Lux struggled in his first full professional season in the Class A Midwest League in 2017. He batted .244 with a .331 on-base percentage and a .362 slugging percentage and played an error-prone shortstop characterized by poor throws.
Dodgers’ doubts erased
In a Baseball America feature by Kyle Glaser on Lux that ran this week, Dodgers scouting director Billy Gasparino admitted that the organization showed some skepticism about Lux during that season.
“Internally and externally, there always seemed to be a little bit of doubt when you talked to people about it,” Gasparino said. “We (the scouting department) never felt it, but I know it existed.”
Lux added 10 pounds of muscle going into the 2018 season, and he quickly proved to the Dodgers why he was such a high draft pick.
Lux broke out at Class A (Advanced) Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) and earned a promotion to Double-A Tulsa (Okla.) of the Texas League.
After being invited to Dodgers spring training this season, Lux was sent back to Tulsa to begin the year and tore up Double-A, as he was named the Texas League’s best hitting prospect, best defensive shortstop and most exciting player.
Lux really began turning heads after a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City of the Pacific Coast League, where he flirted with batting .400 before finishing at .392.
All told, in 113 combined games at Double-A and Triple-A this season, Lux hit .347 to rank fourth in the minors, while his .421 on-base percentage ranked 10th, his .607 slugging percentage ranked sixth and his 1.028 OPS was fourth.
“Obviously I feel like I always believed in myself, but I don’t think I would have expected two years ago to play like how I am now, I guess you could say,” Lux, who was also named to mlb.com’s Prospect of the Year first-team list, told Baseball America.
“It is a little surreal. I’m just enjoying it and having fun every step of the way and taking advantage of it.”
Said Oklahoma City manager Travis Barbary: “He was doing things not only our guys here were talking about, but you see the reaction in the other dugout and they’re like, ‘Man, this guy is unbelievable.’”
Which is why Lux — moved to second base for the time being — earned his promotion to Los Angeles, becoming the first Kenosha native to appear in the majors since Dick Bosman pitched for the Oakland A’s in 1976.
Lux’s promotion to the bigs also fulfilled a family dream.
Lux’s uncle and mentor, longtime Carthage baseball coach Augie Schmidt, was drafted No. 2 overall out of the University of New Orleans in 1982 but never got above Triple-A. Lux’s great uncle and Augie’s father, August Schmidt, pitched two years in the Boston Red Sox system before his career ended due to arm injuries.
“When Gavin got called up, he called my dad and there was a long silence,” Augie Schmidt told Baseball America. “And my dad finally says, ‘Well, damn. It took three tries, but we finally got one there.’
“It was just a cool moment. You have three generations of professional ballplayers, and we finally got one to the big leagues.”
Now, Lux has a homer under his belt. It was the first hit in the majors by a Kenosha native since Ray Berres hit the last of his three career round-trippers for the New York Giants in 1944.
Where Lux goes from here is anyone’s guess, but obviously his future is incredibly bright.
With a strong finish to the regular season, Lux has a chance to be on the Dodgers’ postseason roster. If not, though, he’ll enter 2020 as one of the revered organization’s most talked-about players.
“The external or internal doubts just makes this a little more satisfactory,” Gasparino told Baseball America. “But more for just his own sake, you kind of love the kid.
“How hard he’s worked and how genuine of a person he is, it’s made it extremely satisfying to see this happen to him.”
SIMMONS BLOCK PARTY
Simmons Island Block Party
Noah Muniz, 5, gets help from his grandfather, Chuck LeMay, while checking out a 1972 Hornet Wagon in front of the Kenosha History Center during the Simmons Summer Kickoff Block Party on Saturday. The event, shortened by rain, featured American Motor Co. and other classic cars as well as food vendors.
Harris and Hudson with Matt
Dan Harris shares his love of classic cars with his son, Matt; seen here examining the engine of a Hudson.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
Smart dog: Bowie, owned by James Bradmon, takes advantage of the shade underneath a classic car to escape the heat during the Father’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
‘I like it hot, like today,” said Manuel Palos, Sr., left, as he and his son Manuel Palos, Jr., right, viewed a 1969 Dodge Super Bee. “It’s good to spend time with dad in the morning,” said Palos, Jr. The pair were at the Father’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
You can’t go wrong (especially in Kenosha) taking your dad to the Father’s Day Car Show in Baker Park, where you’ll see classic cars like this 1959 Edsel Corsair, owned by Tony Ammendola.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
Pete Foley, right, stays out of the sun underneath an umbrella with his 1938 Chevy coupe, painted with flames in a “laser red” metallic pearl during the hot Father’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
Another vehicle arrives for the Father’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
“It’s pretty cool. You don’t get to see cars like this every day. It’s just a cool experience to see the cars,’ said Joseph White, left, as he takes a photo of a 1930 Ford Model A truck owned by Rick Colp of Pleasant Prairie that’s reflected in the paint job of 1965 Pontiac GTO, right, owned by Jerry Chapman. Father’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
Roy Scuffham grabs some cold water out of the trunk of his 1969 GTO, “The Judge.”
duringFather’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018. Scuffham got the car in 1980 and replaced it’s bent frame with another from a 1969 LeMans that he had on hand. “It keeps me out of the bars and out of trouble. The wife knew where I was,” said Scuffham
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
‘I like it hot, like today,” said Manuel Palos Sr., above left, as he and his son Manuel Palos Jr., right, view a 1969 Dodge Super Bee. “It’s good to spend time with dad in the morning,” said Palos, Jr.
The pair were at the Father’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
CAR SHOW BAKER PARK
“Ten miles per gallon, if you’re lucky, on a good day, with the wind behind you,” said Steve Andersen, right, who drove his 1973 Cadillac hearse to the Father’s Day Kenosha Car Show, hosted by Vintage Auto Group and Kenosha Classic Street Machines, at Baker Park on Sunday, June 17, 2018.
WOUNDED WARRIOR CAR SHOW
Car enthusiasts walk through rows of classic cars during the annual car show fundraiser to benefit severely wounded soldiers. This year’s event is Sunday on Simmons Island.
WOUNDED WARRIOR CAR SHOW
CAR SHOW
Terry Brittingham brought his 1930 Ford to the Kenosha Classic Cruise-in Car Show. This year’s show is Sept. 1.
CAR SHOW
Dennis Spitz, front, gets help moving his 410 wind sprint car from his son, Kris, for the Kenosha Classic Cruise-in Car Show downtown on Saturday.
RODS FOR A REASON CAR SHOW
Auto enthusiasts look at classic cars during the Rods for a Reason car show at Petrifying Springs Park on July 9. Proceeds from the event will go to fund requests to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Wisconsin from the Kenosha and Racine communities.
RODS FOR A REASON CAR SHOW
Auto enthusiasts look at classic cars during the Rods for a Reason car show at Petrifying Springs Park on Sunday, July 9, 2017.
