House Sitting

 

The Nationals are proof that you could ignite the entire youth movement and somehow it could get worse than before. 

I dunno, Dylan Crews, Robert Hassell and Daylen Lile were high-priority prospects for a reason, and they lit up the minors and gave the impression that they were ready for MLB work, and it just hasn't come together. Crews is not only hurt but wasn't hitting above .200. Hassell hit .218 in 21 games, went back down. Lile is hitting .226 and has a -0.8 WAR. I dunno what happened. I dunno if it's this team, this season, this moment. You'd think they'd figure something out. It hasn't happened. So now they're onto the next rookie outfielder. Brady House is up now, he's, at the very least, hitting .258 with 12 RBIs in 24 games, and he seems to have some of the early promise that the other three lacked. But if we're going with fourth contingency plan outfielders, not even counting Jacob Young [who's fine this year], you can tell the plan hasn't really worked out in Washington. 

The Nats, in a division where the Braves have disappointed and the Marlins have fluctuated, are in dead last. They've done this with a relatively consistent rotation [or at least it was til Trevor Williams' second straight midyear injury], two genuine stars in Wood and Abrams, and Miguel Cairo now managing. People that looked like building blocks last year, like Luis Garcia, Keibert Ruiz and Jose Tena, have taken huge steps backwards. The supplementary pieces aren't anything special, with Nathaniel Lowe hitting .230 despite 60 RBIs. In a year where they were supposed to build, they're falling further apart and setting back the rebuild timeline. 

And it still could happen soon enough. Gore, Irvin and Parker are still reliable arms. Wood is a bonafide star, and already has his sights on a 30 homer year. There's a chance that Crews and Hassell click into place next year, and that'll make up for the strife this year I suppose. But I think that the fanbase was feeling like the competitive run was coming sooner than actuality, and it's just been a disappointing comedown from that. 

All that remains for the Nats is to let loose some expendable pieces, be the spoiler when possible and hope next year comes together more. This team can't be a last place team forever, not with this much talent waiting.

Coming Tonight: One of the longest names in baseball, and one of the more impressive bounce-backs.