One storyline that came out of Spring Training was that the Nats offense was a work in progress and the pitching staff could be a pleasant surprise. Just about every Nationals pitcher looked great this spring, while the offense was feeble outside of Brady House. However, when the real games started, the script totally flipped.
We have talked about the Nats pitching staff, so I wanted to give the offense some love. Right now, they are in the top three in most major categories, including OPS, batting
average, runs and home runs. Blake Butera is getting productive at bats from guys up and down the lineup, and it has been a joy to watch.
While the Nats offense is unlikely to stay this hot, there are positive trends that I think will stick. The overall approach of most Nats hitters is a lot better. That is not just from the big names at the top of the order. Players like Jorbit Vivas and Curtis Mead have consistently put together quality at bats. The biggest thing I have noticed is that the Nats are making pitchers earn the outs they get.
Being hard to kill is a great way to make a starting pitcher’s pitch count climb. A good way to have a quality offense is to make the starters pitch count climb and get into the underbelly of a bullpen. That is what the Nats have been doing so far. I have also loved all the damage they are doing with two outs. They are not just packing it in when there is nobody on and two outs. Nats hitters are always applying pressure and being the aggressor.
I am really impressed with the work that new hitting coach Matt Borgschulte has done so far. He is helping Nats hitters be aggressive yet also patient. That is a tough gap to bridge, but so far Nats hitters are doing that.
We are seeing Nats hitters work the count more and take walks. Paul highlighted this in his story yesterday. CJ Abrams and Brady House are two players who are showing much better approaches. Abrams’ chase rate is actually not that different from last year, but he is still finding a way to walk at a 13% clip so far this season. That walk rate will come down, but if Abrams can walk closer to 10% of the time instead of 5%, that would help him a ton as a hitter.
The player who has transformed his offensive game the most though is Brady House. Last year, he did not seem to have much of a plan up there. He was just reacting and swinging at just about everything. However, we saw a different looking hitter in Spring Training and that has carried over into the regular season.
House is hitting .317 with a .915 OPS. It is not just about the numbers though. His plan at the plate looks much improved. House is learning to sit on pitches and wait for a certain pitch in a certain spot early in the count. He is also learning that it is okay to take strikes if they are not your pitch to hit.
The perfect example of House sitting on a pitch was his homer on a breaking ball the other night. Right as he hammered a sweeper into the red seats, Ryan Zimmerman could instantly tell he was sitting on first pitch breaking ball. I am not sure if House would have had that defined plan last season. It was an example of a 22 year old hitter figuring things out in the big leagues.
We have also seen adjustments from struggling hitters like James Wood. To begin the season, Wood was getting in trouble by being too passive. However, he has been using more calculated aggression lately, and the results are coming. We did not see those kinds of adjustments in the past, and if we did, it would have come after weeks and weeks of struggling.
Nats fans were hard on Darnell Coles, and so far they have been proved right. This offense looks so much smarter and better prepared. It is still early, but this offense is truly explosive. We have not seen an offense like this since that Kyle Schwarber led bonanza in 2021. You have to give the Nats hitting coaches a lot of credit for this.
The players themselves also deserve credit for buying in and accepting their roles. It would have been easy for CJ Abrams to pout about being moved from the leadoff spot to the 5 or 6 hole. However, that move has turned out to be a blessing for him. He is evolving into a true run producer and is leading the league in RBI’s.
It is a small sample, and I would be surprised if the Nats offense finished the year with a batting average over .275 and an OPS over .800. However, the Nats talented young core of hitters seems to finally be putting it together. Whether it is due to approach changes, swing changes or just being hot, just about every Nats hitter is seeing it well right now.
This will be something we follow throughout the season. Sure, the pitching staff has been a disaster, but this offense deserves some serious props. This is the area where we are seeing the impact of the new coaching staff. However, Matt Borgschulte will face his biggest test in the second half. Wood and Abrams have histories of fading down the stretch. Now we will find out if that was a coaching problem, or part of their games. I am going to just sit back and enjoy the Nats offensive explosion while it lasts.
