Giving early season awards to these Dodgers

This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

LOS ANGELES -- It’s hard to believe the 2023 season is over a month old. The Dodgers had an up-and-down start to the year, but they finished April strong, sweeping the Cardinals over the weekend and improving to 17-13 through a little over the opening month.

While we’re already one game into May, let’s look back and hand out some awards now that March and April are behind us.

Player of the Month: OF James Outman

Who saw this one coming?

Coming into Spring Training, Outman had an outside shot of even being on the Opening Day roster. The Dodgers signed David Peralta a few days before the start of camp, significantly diminishing his chances to start the season.

Then Spring Training started, and Gavin Lux was lost for the season with a torn ACL and LCL. That injury, as unfortunate as it was for the Dodgers, opened up a spot on the roster for another position player, particularly one who could hit from the left side. Outman ultimately won the job in spring and made his first Opening Day roster.

Since then, Outman has been one of the most consistent hitters in the Dodgers’ lineup. Outside of a recent slump in which he struck out in seven consecutive at-bats, Outman has been a big contributor, currently second on the team with seven homers, for the Dodgers and has filled the void of Cody Bellinger in center field well. Max Muncy easily could’ve gotten this award with his 11 homers, but the element of surprise definitely swayed this in Outman’s favor.

Pitcher of the Month: LHP Clayton Kershaw

Seemingly every year, people wait for the day Kershaw is no longer one of the best pitchers in the Majors. Those people will have to keep waiting because the future Hall of Famer is still at the top of his game.

With some other starters struggling and some injuries at the back end of the rotation, the Dodgers have asked Kershaw for a lot to start the season, and the left-hander has delivered every time. Kershaw led the National League with 38 innings in March and April and already has five wins.

Kershaw had two particularly dominant outings over the first month, shutting down the Mets and Cardinals, two of the best lineups in baseball, especially against southpaws. Kershaw also celebrated his 200th career win during April.

Reliever of the Month: RHP Brusdar Graterol

Things didn’t get off to the best start for Graterol, who allowed three runs on six hits in his first four outings. But since a tough outing against the D-backs on April 8, Graterol has been lights out.

Graterol hasn’t allowed a run over 8 1/3 innings in his last nine appearances. During that stretch, Graterol has also found success getting swings and misses, striking out eight in those frames. The Venezuelan right-hander has established himself as one of the two best relievers in the bullpen, alongside Evan Phillips, who was also under consideration for this fake award.