Washington Nationals: We are watching peak Anthony Rendon

In his fifth season with the Washington Nationals, Anthony Rendon looks like he’s reaching his peak

Since the Washington Nationals drafted Anthony Rendon with the sixth pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, fans have been waiting for him to bust out as the Robin to Bryce Harper’s Batman. While he has been a very nice player throughout his young career, even showing occasional spurts of greatness, Rendon has not possessed the consistency of some of his third base peers.

But this year is different; at age 27, Rendon has elevated his game to another level.

Rendon’s walk rate has improved each year he has been in the majors, from 7.9 percent as a rookie, to 10 percent in 2016. But it has taken a massive leap this year – Rendon owns a 14.8 percent walk rate in 2017, along with a career low 14.2 percent strikeout rate. He is one of only seven players in baseball to draw more free passes than strikeouts this season.

The remarkable part of Rendon’s eye is that he still sports a .933 OPS, good for 19th in the majors. Take a look at the seven hitters who have at least a 1.0 BB/K rate this year – Dustin Pedroia and Robbie Grossman are slap hitters at this point in their careers and Mookie Betts has seen his power numbers drop in the pursuit of contact. That leaves Rendon, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo, and Buster Posey as the players who are still mashing bombs without missing balls – pretty good company to be in (all four have at least a .900 OPS).

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This year, Rendon is only being slightly more selective at the plate, but that could still be making a difference. He is swinging at fewer pitches outside the strike zone, and making more contact with pitches inside the zone.

When Rendon does make contact, the ball is getting up in the air with force. Plenty of talk has surfaced this season about fly ball rate, with Nationals teammates Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman at the forefront of the movement. In Rendon’s rookie season, only 33.9 percent of his batted balls were fly balls. This year, his fly ball rate is up to 47 percent (top 15 in baseball), which has led to a career-high 14.9 percent home run rate.

So far this year, Rendon already has 14 homers through Washington’s first 73 games – he is on pace for 31 round-trippers, by far a career-high mark. In 2014, he slugged 24.

Third base is arguably the deepest positions in baseball. Despite productive seasons from 2013-16, Rendon was lost in the shuffle amongst young guns Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, and Kris Bryant, as well as established stars like Josh Donaldson, Adrian Beltre, and Evan Longoria.

This year, Rendon is tops at the position statistically. His 3.0 WAR is best among three-baggers. He leads all third basemen in on-base percentage and is third in .OPS.

Rendon broke out in 2014, but his 2017 season is what finally puts him in the conversation with baseball’s best. And based on the arc of Rendon’s year thus far, it seems as if his best is yet to come.

Next: Money issues cloud trade deadline needs

All numbers are courtesy of Fangraphs

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