Washington Nationals: What Is Stephen Drew’s Role In The Postseason?

With Stephen Drew’s strong play lately, where should he be in the Washington Nationals rotation plans?

During Saturday night’s NL East clinching win by the Washington Nationals over the Pirates, Stephen Drew had one of the biggest plays of the game. In the top of the first, Drew’s two-run single against Ivan Nova gave the Nats a 3-0 lead. Even though Drew doesn’t get much playing time, he has been one of the key pieces for the team off the bench in 2016.

This week, Drew played in six games because of the injury to Daniel Murphy at second base. He flourished in that opportunity as he went 6-for-17 with two doubles, two RBI’s, and a .450 on-base percentage. This month, the 33-year-old is hitting .346, albeit in only 14 games.

Now, Drew is one of those players who are a lock to make the postseason roster for the NLDS that begins next Friday against the Dodgers. At the same time, Drew is making a case to get a start or two in that series, with maybe the exception of Game 1 against likely Clayton Kershaw (1-for-17, eight strikeouts).

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If Murphy is healthy, the Washington Nationals can use him at first base if they don’t think Ryan Zimmerman is the best option. Despite some better swings from Zimmerman lately, he is hitting only .212 with two home runs and six RBI’s this month. The option would be to move Murphy to first and Drew to second.

For Drew, this will be his first postseason since 2013, when he was on the World Champion Boston Red Sox. Despite the team having the ultimate success, Drew’s postseason was less than stellar. He was 6-for-54 with one home run, but made some good defensive plays during that postseason run.

While defense is normally a strong point for Drew, his -0.1 dWar is the second lowest of his career according to Baseball Reference (-0.4 with Oakland in 2012). He has the ability to play shortstop, but its tough to see the Washington Nationals benching Danny Espinosa because of his good defense at the position.

All that being said, Drew’s best contributions for the Washington Nationals might just be off the bench as a pinch-hitter. His three home runs are tied with Chris Heisey for the team lead and tied for the second most in the National League.

Another stat to take a look at involving Drew is hitting with runners in scoring position. While Drew only has 25 at-bats with RISP this year, he is hitting .280 with ten RBI’s.

Next: Focus Shifts To October And Dodgers

Over the course of the second half, the Washington Nationals infielder has hit .368 in 32 games. Drew won’t be one of the key contributors in October, but he is one of those depth pieces that can be a factor, regardless of how he’s used. That is something I don’t think Nats fans expected to say when he signed with the team this winter.

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