The Dodgers’ 22-year-old rookie sensation Yasiel Puig (Yah-SEE-el Pweeg) has seemingly skyrocketed to stardom out of nowhere since his June 3rd debut (although our very own Shea Carlson predicted this months before). His speed, power, and looks electrify crowds, rumble the Twitter world, and fill stat sheets at unprecedented rates. These reasons and more explain why he’s sold the most memorabilia in the Dodgers’ storied history for a four-day span. But, while Puig’s production and buzz show no signs of crumbling, let’s take a look at how good he’s actually been, and how long he can keep this up.

How Good Has Puig Actually Been?

In his first ten games in the major leagues, the Cuban Missile (he’s a Cuban defector) has reignited Dodger Stadium’s energy and hope, which were sorely lacking for a ball club with both the 2nd-highest team payroll in the world and the worst record in the NL West. But a quick look at his stats reminds everyone why this right-fielder is not all hype:

As shown above, his numbers in his first ten games are mind-blowing, including a .486 batting average (17-35), .886 SLG (total bases divided by at bats), .514 OBP (on-base percentage), and 1.399 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage). At this pace, he’d lead the league in virtually every major statistical batting category. He’s also amassed 10 RBIs and has hit for the home-run cycle: that’s right, he’s hit a solo, two-run, three-run, and grand slam…all in a little more than a week’s work.

With those four home runs in his first five games, he’s tied with Mike Jacobs as the fastest player in MLB history to hit four homers. The grand slam in particular left legendary Dodgers announcer Vin Scully speechless. The historic week also left the league with no choice but to name Puig the National League Player of the Week. Rest assured, however, he didn’t earn it only for his stellar offensive displays. On the defensive side, he flexed his arm strength with two defensive assists, including a dazzling game-ending throw to first base from the right field warning track:

Nevertheless, one must remember that his unbelievable stats are from a miniscule sample size (ten games). One should thus proceed with caution when evaluating Puig’s potential ceiling, which leads to my next question:

How Long Can He Keep This Up?

Many wonder if Puig is headed towards a historic rookie year a la Mike Trout, who nearly won the AL MVP award last year as a rookie. While Puig may very well continue to play very well for the remaining hundred or so games in the season, it’s highly unlikely that’ll he continue to put up the same ridiculous numbers. For reference, let’s compare Puig’s stats to the highest career stats recorded in baseball history for several major batting categories, per baseball-reference:

AVG SLG OBP OPS HR (162gm pace) RBI (162gm pace) Puig (10 games) 0.486 0.886 0.514 1.399 65 162 MLB Career Records 0.366 0.689 0.482 1.163 73 191

*Home-runs and RBIs shown are Puig’s 162-game pace plus single-season records.

As seen above, Puig’s stats soar above most career MLB records, indicating that his historic start will soon slow down. With Puig’s name on the map, teams will study his strengths and weaknesses and will try to limit the former and exploit the latter. He’ll have to learn to make the right adjustments, which he’s more than capable of doing. Striking out only six times in thirty-five at-bats, swinging at about 58% of pitches and 36% of balls (per ESPN), he’s shown that he’s not a wild swinger who’s trying to whack every pitch out of the park. His discipline is evident in the following chart, which shows the balls that Puig has swung at – few balls and mostly strikes.

Regardless, as the Arizona Diamonbacks’ closer Heath Bell recently said, “The true test of any guy who comes up hot isn’t, ‘Can he do it for a week, a month, a first half or even a season?’ It’s, ‘What about the next year?’”

But you know what? The beauty of Puig’s fantastic debut isn’t about worrying when or if he’ll hit the rookie wall or regress to the mean; it’s about basking in the sun, relishing the moment, and enjoying the once-in-a-generation ride, as Puig himself is certainly doing.