Anthony Rendon’s Return

There were high hopes for Anthony Rendon this season, even including some limited speculation that with a strong showing in the minor leagues he could potentially be an option for the Nationals come September, but those plans quickly changed when he suffered a severe ankle injury just two games into the year. Now, over three months later, the organization’s top infield prospect has finally returned to the field.

Rendon, though technically still on the disabled list, returned to the field on Thursday with the organization’s Gulf Coast League affiliate. He’s appeared in two games thus far, collecting a hit in six at bats.

When Rendon first suffered the injury, he fractured his ankle in a fall rounding third base, there were some that believed his season was going to be completely lost. Internally, however, there was hope within the organization that he’d still be able to return. With his return to action coming this week (albeit on a rehab assignment) there’s reason to believe he’ll be able to see some time with one of the organization’s minor league affiliates before the minor league regular season comes to a conclusion. Once he’s ready, it’s believed he’ll head to the team’s Potomac affiliate. Their minor league season concludes on September 3rd.

When Washington drafted Rendon last year it was widely believed that they had gotten one of the best prospects available in the draft, despite his checkered injury history. To date fans of the Nationals have yet to see the fruits of that decision but hopefully the 22 year old will be able to remain on the field for the rest of the year, proving that all the hype was worth it.