Washington Nationals 2016 Player Preview: Ben Revere

What are the expectations for Ben Revere In his first year with the Nats?

When Denard Span left the Washington Nationals to sign a three-year deal with the San Francisco Giants, most thought that Michael Taylor was going to be the next center field. However, back in January, the Nats traded reliever Drew Storen to the Toronto Blue Jays for Ben Revere. Now, as Opening Day gets closer, Revere gets set to be the team’s new center fielder.

So far, this spring, Revere is 7-for-13 (.538) with two doubles, a home run, and two RBI’s. Yesterday, against the Astros, he went 2-for-2 with a double and a single. He was caught stealing second to end the third inning, but as the MASN crew pointed out on the broadcast, he should have been safe. His seven hits are second on the team this spring behind Scott Sizemore (eight).

More from District on Deck

Last season, the Blue Jays acquired Revere in a midseason trade from the Philadelphia Phillies. In the final 56 games of the season, the 27-year-old hit .319 with one home run and 19 RBI’s to go with a .354 on-base percentage. His .354 OBP was fourth on the team behind Ryan Goins, Jose Bautista, and Josh Donaldson.

When you look at Revere’s game, he is a hitter who is more known for getting singles. His 150 singles last season were the third most in the league behind Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox) and Dee Gordon (Marlins).

Revere is the kind of player that can fit Dusty Baker’s style of aggressive baserunning and being able to steal bases out of the leadoff spot. He has 30+ stolen bases in four of the last five years, including 40 with the Minnesota Twins in 2012. He isn’t known for the long ball (four home runs in six years), but the Nats don’t need him to hit home runs for this offense to be successful.