CINCINNATI -- First baseman Adrián González has seen a lot of rookies in his 13-year career. When he saw shortstop Corey Seager, Gonzalez knew the Dodgers had something special.
"I always said that I thought he was type of talent, type of guy that will be in the Hall of Fame discussion 20 years from now," Gonzalez said after the Dodgers' 18-9 trouncing of the Reds on Monday.
While there's a long ways to go before Gonzalez's premonition can be proven accurate, Seager has gotten off to a good start in his first full season in the big leagues. Already in the running for the National League Rookie of the Year Award and in the discussion for the NL MVP Award, Seager is having one of the best seasons for a Dodgers shortstop.
On Monday, Seager added to that lore, hitting his 22nd homer of the season to tie Glenn Wright's 1930 mark for most in a single season by a Dodgers shortstop.
"It's cool whenever," Seager said. "That's not why you're out here playing, but when it happens, it's something to kind of celebrate at the end of the year."
Seager, who went 4-for-5 with three RBIs on Monday, also extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Seager started the season slowly, batting .243 with two homers through his first 28 games. In 92 games since then, Seager has hit .343 with 20 homers and has gone on four hitting streaks of 10 or more games.
Seager isn't just getting it done with the bat, either. He ranks third among all shortstops with an 11.6 ultimate zone rating (UZR) and by Fangraphs' version of WAR, Seager's 6.2 ranks fifth, behind only Kris Bryant's 6.6 in the NL.
"He's been incredible," Gonzalez said. "Definitely night in and night out, swings the bat great, plays great defense for us. It's just, done a lot more than we thought he would his first year. … He's shown that it doesn't matter what league there is, he's going to rake."