Washington Nationals Versatile Speedster Making Major Impression in Spring Training
There have been a few hotly contested positional battles raging on during spring training for the Washington Nationals.
On the mound, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz have been battling it out for the final spot in the starting rotation behind MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Trevor Williams and Michael Soroka.
Depth in the rotation is going to be one of the team’s strengths this season as they also have Cade Cavalli waiting in the wings and Josiah Gray returning from injury. Don’t forget the wave of youngsters such as Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana and Alex Clemmey making waves this spring as well.
Another positional battle that has been worth keeping an eye on is for the final bench spot on the roster.
The 26th spot is up for grabs and there have been a few players vying for it over the last few weeks.
Juan Yepez has worked tirelessly this offseason on losing weight to improve his versatility, ready to play either first base, third base or the corner outfield spots.
Andres Chaparro fell out of the race because of an injury. Jose Tena could be a platoon partner for Paul DeJong at third base.
Another player who has caught the attention of onlooker this spring and put himself in a position to earn the spot is Nasim Nunez.
A second-round pick of the Miami Marlins in the 2019 MLB Draft, he was acquired by the Nationals via the Rule 5 Draft last year.
He played in 51 games as a rookie, making 78 plate appearances with a .246/.370/.262 slugging percentage. There won’t be any power offered by Nunez, but he does bring one elite attribute to the table; his speed.
Despite the limited playing time he stole eight bases last year and was caught only twice. This spring he has been doing the same, stealing seven bases and being caught only twice.
But, he is also producing at a much higher rate at the plate with a .464/.531/.536 slash line with two doubles and four RBI. He has also walked as many times as he has struck out, doing each three times.
That has led Jessica Camerato of MLB.com to select the speedster as the one player making the biggest impression this spring.
“In a battle for the 26th spot on the roster, Nuñez has made a strong case for the Nationals to consider…Nuñez could set himself apart with his speed as a pinch-runner; he has stolen seven bases and has been caught only once,” Camerato wrote.
Speed and aggressiveness on the basepaths was an integral part of the Washington offensive game plan last year. Manger Davey Martinez was doing whatever he could to help make up for the lack of impact bats in the lineup and base running was one avenue.
Nunez would fit perfectly into that plan and offers something that the other players vying for the final bench spot don’t with his elite speed. He also offers versatility with experience playing shortstop and second base at the Major League level.
