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Washington Nationals: Michael Taylor Our Player Of The Week

By Drew Douglas

May 20, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Michael Taylor (3) makes a diving catch on a line drive hit by Atlanta Braves Emilio Bonifacio (not shown) during the seventh inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
May 20, 2017; Atlanta, GA, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Michael Taylor (3) makes a diving catch on a line drive hit by Atlanta Braves Emilio Bonifacio (not shown) during the seventh inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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After Adam Eaton’s injury, Michael Taylor unexpectedly became the Washington Nationals’ everyday center fielder. He has impressed so far and had a solid week this week, leading to him being named District on Deck’s player of the week.

When the Washington Nationals’ prized off-season acquisition, Adam Eaton, was lost for the season due to a knee injury, most Nats fans were calling for a trade to acquire a center fielder. However, Michael Taylor has filled in admirably and has proven that he deserves to play.

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Taylor has always displayed great potential, but has never really been able to tap into it. Coming into this season, his results have been mediocre at best, and he has been among the most frustrating players to don the curly W. Last year was his best offensive season, posting a .231 batting average in 76 games.

This year, Taylor has been able to adjust quicker, allowing him to enjoy more success. Baseball is a game of adjustments, and how quickly you can adjust can be the difference between struggling and raking.

This week was an exceptionally productive week in Taylor’s breakout season. He recorded a hit in five of his six games, contributing to his seven-game hitting streak, which was snapped on Saturday night. He also played excellent defense in center field.

In six games, he led the team in batting average (.304), runs (four), and extra base hits (three). That’s not bad production from the eighth hitter. So far this season, Taylor has a .391 average while in the eight hole. While this is certainly not sustainable, it is very impressive.

He also came through in the clutch this week. In the second game of the Mother’s Day doubleheader, he came up with a runner on first and the Nats down 5-4 in the eighth. The Nats’ bullpen lost the first game and had just given up the lead in the second game, so they desperately needed Taylor to come through to lift their spirits.

Taylor did just that and crushed a go-ahead homer off of the left field foul pole. To make his homer even more impressive, it came against Pat Neshek, who had not allowed a single run going into the night. Taylor’s homer was huge in the sense that it gave the Nats a win, prevented them from losing two games to the struggling Phillies in one day, and allowed them to leave town on an up-note with a series win.

In addition to producing at the plate, Taylor had a few highlight reel plays in center field. On Friday night in Atlanta, Ender Inciarte came up to bat with Dansby Swanson on second. Inciarte singled into center, and Swanson attempted to score. However, Taylor had other plans and gunned down Swanson at the plate. Swanson’s decision to test Taylor’s arm was a questionable one, as he was out by a wide margin. Matt Wieters actually had time to catch the throw, turn to face Swanson, and wait a bit for him to slide in.

Taylor’s play kept the game tied at 4-4 in the sixth, but the Nats went on to lose the game 7-4. Although they couldn’t come away with a win, Taylor made an outstanding play to keep the game tied and put the Nats in a position to win.

Taylor made another phenomenal play on Saturday night to rob Emilio Bonifacio of extra bases. Bonifacio crushed a ball off of Oliver Perez that was destined for the right-center gap, but Taylor was able to run it down and make a diving catch. Taylor showcased his fantastic athleticism on this play, running 62 feet in just 3.7 seconds before selling out to make the catch. According to Statcast, he had an 18% chance of making the catch, which makes it a five-star catch.

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Taylor has gotten off to a solid start to 2017, and has proved to be a capable center fielder in Adam Eaton’s absence. If he keeps up this level of play, he could earn himself an everyday role for next season as well, assuming Jayson Werth is not re-signed.

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