Davey Martinez needs to figure out how to get Alex Call in the lineup every day, he makes the team better
Alex Call is a pure hitter, it is simple as that. The guy has the most consistently quality at bats on the team, and that includes James Wood. Obviously he does not have that kind of power, but Call makes the right swing decision nearly every time. He also makes the Washington Nationals a much better team.
Whether he plays right field, left field, or even DH, Alex Call needs to be one of the first names on the lineup card for Davey Martinez. It almost feels like his quality at bats can be contagious at times. Guys see him lay off borderline pitches and find it in themselves to do the same.
Alex Call’s swing decisions are legitimately Juan Soto level. He has a 98th percentile chase rate, a 98th percentile whiff rate, a 98th percentile K%, and a 97th percentile walk percentage. That is about as good as you can get in those numbers.
That is why Call is hitting .348 with an .890 OPS. Honestly, he is just picking up where he left off last year before his injury. When Call got the call in 2024, he hit .343 with a .950 OPS. This is now about 170 AB’s of Call hitting over .340 with an OPS deep into the .400’s. While that is not a massive sample size, it is not a tiny one either. It is time to consider that Alex Call is simply one of the best hitters on the team.
With the way guys like Dylan Crews and Josh Bell are playing, it is getting harder to excuse having them in the lineup over Call. I get that they are bigger names and the Nats have more invested in them, but isn’t the goal here to win ball games. Alex Call is easily one of the best nine.
Honestly, a guy like Crews should be in Call’s hip pocket every day asking him about hitting and his approach. I can’t believe I am saying this, but Dylan Crews needs to be more like Alex Call.
However, I think the Nats should give Call an extended look at DH. While he does not have the traditional power profile of a DH, his bat is more than good enough for the position. Call has also struggled a bit with the glove this year. He does not seem to be moving quite as well after his injury last year. Are we even sure a “hot” Josh Bell would be able to produce the way Call is right now?
Simply put, Alex Call is awesome to watch as a hitter. He has twice as many walks as strikeouts, with 16 free passes to 8 punch outs. That is simply a beautiful thing to watch. It sometimes feels like Call is a supercomputer at the plate with the pitches he is laying off. Nobody is pitching around him, yet he still is walking with the best of them.
It seems like Davey is coming around to this, but Alex Call needs to be an everyday player. No more playing him twice a week, or sitting him for extended periods. Along with CJ Abrams, James Wood and Nathaniel Lowe, Alex Call should be one of the first names on the lineup card. Putting Alex Call in the lineup should be something Davey Martinez does automatically. He is just too good of a hitter and the team is visibly better when Alex Call is playing.
There is something to be said for a guy who has had nothing handed to him and has had to grind for every morsel of playing time. Alex Call is that guy, and he has earned the right to be in the lineup every day.