Washington Nationals News: Ian Desmond shows signs of improvement at the plate
By Pablo Roa
Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, the Washington Post‘s Chelsea Janes discusses shortstop Ian Desmond‘s improvement at the plate this season. As Janes notes, Desmond struggled mightily early on in the year.
His low power numbers, high strikeout rate and near .200 batting average were disappointing for a player who has been one of the best-hitting shortstops in baseball the last few seasons. Desmond’s production, or lack thereof, was especially concerning since the shortstop is in his final year with the Nationals and is set to hit free agency next winter.
As Janes notes, however, Desmond has improved a bit of late and appears to be on his way to turning his season around. Desmond has had several big hits in recent games, including two home runs and four RBIs in his last four games. And while his batting average is still a dismal .225, he has time to turn things around as the Nationals head into the second half.
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For the Nationals, Desmond’s production in the second half will be crucial. The Nationals will be without Jayson Werth until at least August, and it’s still unknown when Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman will be back from the disabled list. While the Nationals have been able to get by in spite of Desmond’s lackluster offense during the first few months of the season, the team will need its star shortstop to improve with the bat down the stretch if the Nationals want to accomplish their goals in October.
Also in today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses how Bryce Harper continues to rack up votes for this year’s All-Star Game.
Be sure to check out both articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Ian Desmond showing signs of stability at the plate
(Chelsea Janes, Washington Post)
Though the Nationals lost Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader with the Phillies, they did not do so quietly. Their bats cracked for five runs on 10 hits with a lineup lacking most of its regulars, and provided two monstrous home runs in the process.
Ian Desmond hit one of those home runs, a line drive shot just to the left of center field, one that ended up over the seats and into a Citizens Bank Park concourse by the time it slowed — 458 feet according to MLB’s Statcast, 453 feet by ESPN’s count. Whatever distance the ball traveled — and perhaps it’s just easier to agree to measure it at “far” — it’s lengthy flight resulted from one of several good swings from Desmond Sunday. While he was 1 for 5 in Game 1 and 1 for 3 in Game 2, he flew out to right field multiple times, suggesting a concerted effort to stay on pitches he had previously been grounding weakly to the left side or missing altogether. Read full article here.
Harper steaming toward start in All-Star Game
NEW YORK — Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper continues to rack up the votes on the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot.
In the latest update released Monday, Harper ranked fifth in the Majors overall with 11,363,949 votes. His total has set a new all-time single-season National League voting record, surpassing the previous mark of 7,621,370 set by San Francisco’s Buster Posey in 2012.
And why not? Harper is having the year of his life. He is among the league leaders in several offensive categories, including home runs, RBIs, batting average and on-base percentage. Read full article here.