The Washington Nationals squandered an early 3-run lead and a respectable pitching performance by Mitchell Parker last night, losing to the last-place Miami Marlins, 6-3. In so doing, Washington was mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, not that anyone has harbored any illusions about that since the All Star break.
Auditions in progress
For several weeks now, the Nationals have been in tryout mode. So who among the new faces appearing in Washington’s lineup these days is likely to be a contributor in 2025? Let’s look at the team’s stats since the break and see who’s showing promise.
Who’s raking?
Among the players with at least 80 at-bats since mid-July, Alex Call leads the team with a .349 batting average, followed by Jose Tena (.320). While “raking” might be too strong a term for the best of the rest, they are Luis Garcia Jr. and James Wood (.282), and Jacob Young (.269).
Who’s driving the ball?
Wood leads the team with 79 total bases. Keibert Ruiz continues to show improvement after the woeful start to his season, and has 71 total bases in the past two months. Garcia (64), Juan Yepez (61) and Young (60) round out the top five.
Who’s clearing the wall?
While no Nat is anywhere near the league lead in homers since the break, Ruiz has seven bombs in that time. Others showing pop are Yepez and CJ Abrams (five), Andres Chaparro, Garcia and Wood (four).
Who’s knocking in runs?
Your Washington RBI leaders since the break: Wood (27), Ruiz (22), Yepez (19), Garcia (18) and Abrams (17, despite his anemic .179 average).
Who’s dealing?
Washington’s most effective starter since the break, with five quality starts, is Mitchell Parker, followed by (believe it or not) Patrick Corbin (four), Jake Irvin and MacKenzie Gore (three). Among relievers, Derek Law and Jose Ferrer have five holds each, and Kyle Finnegan has all 11 of the team’s saves.
With one glaring exception, there’s a good chance everyone whose name appears in this post will be on the 2025 roster, and you can add Dylan Crews to the list as well – he has played excellent defense in his 15 games and shown promise at the plate with a .241 average, three homers and eight RBIs. Corbin, however, is almost certainly in his last days as a National – despite his recent respectability, he has been largely ineffective since playing a key role in the 2019 championship season, and his contract expires this year.
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