As I predicted the Nats took one from the Marlins and made it to Monday 55-99. They do play tonight and I expect them to lose 100 at home which is fitting because they are worse at home than away. The Nats have 4 more games to win one which would give them 10 wins for the month and their first double digit winning month since June. Hoo... ray?
Basically the only fun thing about the Nats right now is Joey Meneses won't stop, cant' stop, hitting. His line is at .326 / .360 /.583 right now and he's hit himself into a starting role in 2023 just because who else are they going to play? A lot of Nats fans are cautiously optimistic. How often does an older guy come out of nowhere with a second half THIS hot?
The answer is not often but...
Like last year I only found 2 guys with high 2nd half OPSs, 27+, and didn't have a lot of previous playing time. Say hello to Rafael Ortega and Frank Schwindel. You probably do have to say hello to them because there isn't a good reason to know who they are. Ortega has been middling all year and Schwindel got his chance like Meneses will next year and he is now out of baseball entirely.
2020 can't be used, but 2019? That looks better. You have Mike Yastrzemski, who went onto have a great 2020 then usable 2021 and 2022.
In 2018 Joey Wendle might count - played about 40 uninspiring games prior to that season. He's been average since. Before that maybe Ryan Schimpf? Jung Ho Kang?
I could do a more thorough search but I think that's what I'll find going back for the most part. Mostly guys like Schwindel and Schimpf who come in to bad teams late to fill space, do really well, get their chance the year after and show you why they surprised everyone in the first place. But BUT occasionally you'll get a Mike Yaz who is not necessarily a star, but can be a useful player for a few years and likely will be a fan favorite for 2-3-4 years as the team resets.
Joey, be a Yaz.
I would love for Meneses to be a Yaz. But he's 2 years older than Yaz was, Yaz was raking to a 1.100 OPS in AAA upon callup vs Meneses putting up .830, and Yaz provided plus defense on top of it. I suspect Joey to be more of a Schwindel, but I'll keep my fingers crossed
ReplyDeleteYeah - if you factor league OPS and history Joey looks better than this gap suggests but it's still a reach. If you look at 29+ debuts with 200+ PA since WWII... it's a lot of guys that amounted to nothing with the sprinkling of pretty good foreigners. But on the other hand no one hit as well as Joey has - #2 is in fact Frank Schwindel. So if someone is going to break the mold...
ReplyDeleteAnything. Please. We're grasping straws.
ReplyDeleteThe goal for Meneses should NOT be: the Nats have found a diamond in the rough who will contribute to the next team that competes for a playoff spot.
ReplyDeleteRather, the goal SHOULD be: the Nats have found a player who can provide potentially league average offense (with the possibility of something more) at bargain basement prices for 2023 and possibly 2024 (depending upon how 2023 goes).