2013 Nationals Review: Steve Lombardozzi

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Name: Steve Lombardozzi

Position: Utility

Stat Line:

2013 Expectations:

Going into 2013, Steve Lombardozzi was expected to do what he did in 2012, be a solid bat off the bench and play good as a defensive replacement. That is exactly what he did. He played 126 games and hit .273 and only made 2 errors in 238 chances. Lombardozzi’s stats are hard to predict because he comes off the bench as a utility guy. But, you would expect him to hit around .250 with a .650 OPS and play solid defense when he comes in the game.

2013 Season:

This season was about what a typical season would be for Lombardozzi. He had 307 plate appearances in 118 games, where he hit .259 with a .616 OPS. The stat that was most disappointing was the .278 OBP, that is not good for a guy coming off the bench.  But, again, his defense was stellar. He played 359.2 innings in three different spots and in 224 chances, he only made three errors. All three of the errors were at second base, so when Lombardozzi played left field or third base, he was flawless.

2014 Predictions:

As a bench player, it is hard to predict a season stat line, as I said before. But our friends at FanGraphs do an amazing job and here is what they came up with. They have Lombardozzi playing in 70 games, compiling 314 plate appearances, and hitting .265 with an OPS of .669. Although it is impossible to calculate the stats for defense, you can count on Lombardozzi to come in the games late and play stellar defense, wherever he is on the field. The thought for 2014 is that Lombardozzi will come off the bench again. But if there is an injury, he will be one of the guys considered to fill in; at any position, he will be ready.