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ST. PETERSBURG -- James Outman’s dominant April was the shot in the arm the Dodgers needed as they waited for some of their other regulars to get into a rhythm and/or healthy. 

For a rookie, Outman certainly looks the part. He has a solid approach at the plate and has power for days. Despite his seven-homer and 20-RBI start to the season in March and April that led to National League Player of the Month honors, it was obvious that level of production was probably not going to be sustainable over the course of a six-month regular season.

That’s not a knock on Outman. Even the best players in the league struggled at times during their rookie seasons as opposing pitchers started to get a better idea of how to attack each hitter. 

In May, Outman has come crashing down to earth. He has a .179 batting average and a .601 OPS this month, way down from the .991 clip he posted over the first month and change of the season. The last 13 games have been difficult for Outman, going 4-for-35 with one homer and 15 strikeouts. He has a .380 OPS in that span. That has led manager Dave Roberts to keep Outman out of the starting lineup in two of the last five games. When he does play, Outman has slid down in the lineup, batting eighth behind other lefties David Peralta and Jason Heyward.

“I think, sometimes, the thing with young players -- and we’ve all seen it -- [is] things happen fast here,” Roberts said. “So when you just run them out there and turn a blind eye, it really spirals fast. So I think if you can get people out of that hot box for a little bit, it slows down.”

Outman saw a lot of breaking pitches low in the zone early in his career. He answered by connecting on every mistake, particularly against the Cubs and D-backs, who didn’t have a good idea of how to pitch to him. Outman is still seeing some breaking pitches lower in the zone from other teams, but he hasn’t been nearly as successful against them. Why? Because now he’s seeing a ton more elevated fastballs that have changed his eye level. Outman is in-between. 

“They’re crowding him. They’re elevating,” Roberts said. “If he can get to the middle of the field, hit some line drives, some flares over there, I think things will get back on track, and then pull the off-speed pitches. He’s late on some heaters and out in front of some breaking balls.” 

The pitch mix against Outman has drastically changed. He saw heaters 23.6 percent of the time through April. That number has escalated to 40.8 percent since May 1. Interestingly enough, however, Outman had a .364 batting average off four-seamers through April. Since? He’s 2-for-23 with a .217 slugging percentage and 10 strikeouts since May 1. He has a 43.9 percent whiff rate against the pitch, which is nearly double the league average. 

“It’s a combo. Like most things,” Roberts said. “He’ll be fine.” 

The Dodgers are hoping that happens sooner or later before things really spiral out of control for the promising rookie.