At the beginning of the season, one of the Nationals team goals was to hit for more power. Last season, the Nats finished second to last in home runs, only two homers ahead of the historically bad White Sox. If the team were to make the next step that they were hoping to take, they needed to hit for way more power.
Well, they are hitting for more power, but not enough. In 2024, the Nationals only hit 135 homers all season. This year they are already at 126, so they will comfortably pass last year’s
total. However, that is still the third fewest in all of baseball, only behind the Pirates and interestingly the Padres. So it is better, but not good enough.
In the offseason, we wrote a lot about the team’s pursuit of power. They added some home runs to the lineup, but we worried about how much juice was added. While Nathaniel Lowe and Josh Bell both look like sluggers, neither are pure home run hitters. Both guys are gap to gap hitters who run into home runs due to strength.
Instead of providing the 25 homers the Nats wanted them too, both have home run totals in the teens. That is not particularly surprising because that is who those guys have been for the past few years. The Nats tried to change those guys to add more power, but instead it just hurt them. Bell found a way to overcome this, while Lowe is just starting to bounce back on a new team.
Last night was the perfect example of how a lack of power can lose you games. The Nats had 12 hits last night, but none were homers and only two were doubles. Without that power, you have to be elite with runners in scoring position and the Nats were not.
While it may seem like the Nats have been bad with runners in scoring position this year, they actually have not. Their .263 average with RISP is actually 8th in all of baseball. They have actually been good at getting runners in, they are just overly reliant on that. The Rays only had 8 hits, but they had a couple of homers which was enough to get them over the line.
One big reason the power has dried up lately is the lack of production from James Wood. Even with the big slugger looking a bit more comfortable recently, he still has not been hitting for a ton of home run power. Even in August, where Wood has not been as bad, he has only hit two home runs. With their primary source of power not delivering, it is no wonder that the Nats don’t hit for much power. Hopefully Wood can get to 30 homers for the season.
Another thing that makes the problem even worse is how much the pitching staff allows homers. The Nationals have allowed 50 more home runs than they have hit. That power gap is one of the things the Nationals desperately need to solve. Hit more home runs and allow fewer. It sounds simple, but it is something you need to do if you want to win games.
Last night, the Nats out hit the Rays 12-8, but were out homered 2-0. At the end of the day, the team that slugged the home runs won the day. In today’s game, it is harder than ever to string together singles because of the quality of stuff. That means you need to hit the long ball. This is something the Nationals need to finally realize.
