When Andrew Friedman took over the Dodgers in October 2014, he inherited a flawed but talented team that included a few of baseball’s biggest stars, a few of its future stars and little else. Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke paced the major leagues. Corey Seager, Julio Urías and Joc Pederson all ranked among Baseball America’s top 10 prospects in the sport.



A 19-year-old named Cody Bellinger did not fit into either category. Two seasons into his professional career, he had not yet reached the national radar. He had not yet cracked Baseball America’s top-10 prospect list for the team. He had not even appeared in a game in the outfield, where he won a Gold Glove this year. He had hit only four pro home runs.



On Thursday, Bellinger won the National League Most Valuable Player award, after a remarkable season in which he hit .305, with a .406 on-base percentage and .629 slugging percentage. He clubbed 47 home runs and drove in 115 runs. None of...