Since Brady House has been back in the big leagues, the team’s plan for him has been very clear. They have been using him in a platoon role against left handed pitching. When you look at his numbers, the plan is quite logical. On the season, House is hitting .355 with a 1.009 OPS against lefties compared to a .177 average and .538 OPS against righties.
However, with the Nats drifting away from contention, I would like them to prioritize House’s development. Right now, House is platooning with Jorbit
Vivas, who only has a .666 OPS against righties himself. If House had a stronger platoon partner it would be one thing, but Vivas should not be playing more than a high pedigree guy like House.
We all know what House can do against left handed pitching. Last night he reminded us once again, coming off the bench to hit a homer off Brooks Raley. House looks very comfortable against lefties, letting the ball travel and using his big raw power to smoke balls all over the yard. His homer off Raley was a no-doubter the other way.
Sure he struggles against righties, but the only way he is going to get better is through reps. It would be harsh to label a guy who just turned 23 a couple months ago as a pure platoon guy. They are not doing that with Dylan Crews, who has similarly putrid numbers against righties, so why House.
If I am being honest, I do not think management is that high on House. The comparison with Crews is good evidence of this. House has slightly better offensive numbers this year, both on the surface and analytically. However, Crews is the one being hit higher in the lineup and not being platooned. In my opinion, the two are on a similar level, but it does not seem like the Nats braintrust agrees with that.
House was the one who started the year in the bigs, but in Mid-May Crews was called up for him. When House was in the minors, he hit over .300, but showed similar strengths and weaknesses. He hit for a decent amount of power, but most of it was against left handed pitching. House hit for the cycle in AAA, with three of the hits coming against lefties.
Long term, there is a good chance that House is just a platoon bat. However, this is the time where we should be experimenting and seeing if he can get anything going against righties. He is still such a young player who is rough around the edges. Most platoon guys are either lower ranked prospects fighting for a role or veterans who have proven for years they are only good against one side.
House is not either of those things. He is a former first round pick who was a fixture on top 100 lists for years. Usually guys like that get more of a leash for everyday playing time.
The youngster has really struggled against righties, but he has also shown the ability to run into some homers. He has hit five homers off right handed pitching this year. However, most of them have come on hanging breaking balls like this one.
Honestly, House’s biggest red flag is his struggles against fastballs, particularly against righties. This season, House is hitting just .104 against righty fastballs. There is a chance that the front office sees that number and just thinks House is beyond saving against right handed pitching.
However, I would still give him a shot. If you like Vivas’ on base skills against righties, I would mix him in more at second base than third. Nasim Nunez has some exciting traits, but it feels like he is being overplayed this season. A player with Nunez’s skillset is a questionable fit in an everyday role, especially with some of the mental mistakes he has been making lately.
If House continues to struggle the rest of the way with righties, I would be fine to pigeon hole him as a platoon bat. However, I am not at that point yet. Letting House play as often as Curtis Mead did would be a smart move.
Mead played always against lefties and most of the time against righties. However, he would get days off against some of the tougher righties in the league. With the rest of the season being about development, it is time to give Brady House that role and see how it goes.
