The Nationals have countless areas that they need to improve on for next season. Developing and acquiring talented pitchers and hitters takes time and is difficult, but there is one area that the Nationals already have the talent to excel at: base running.
The Nationals are already have a fast team. The average sprint speed for the team is 27.5 feet per second which is good enough for 12th best in MLB. Moreover, players like Jacob Young, Daylen Lile, Dylan Crews, Robert Hassell III, Nasim Nunez, CJ Abrams and James Wood all have sprint speeds that are well above league average. With these players getting consistent playing time over slower veteran players next season, the Nationals should be a team that generate offense on the base paths.
However, even though the Nationals are fast, they have not been generating significant offense through baserunning. Base running run value is a statistic that amalgamates the run value of team and player base running. Last season, the team ranked 16th in the league last season with zero base running runs, and the team ranked 23rd in the league with negative two runs in run value via the stolen base.
Individual players base running statistics were also poor. Despite being above average in speed, Wood, Lile, and Crews all had negative run value from stolen bases and zero base running runs. CJ Abrams was the only bright spot on the team in regards to base running. The shortstop had seven base running runs this past season.
These players with elite speed need to become better base runners. Whether that is learning how to read balls hit to the outfield better to take an extra base or getting better jumps on stolen bases, these players have too much speed and raw talent to be performing poorly in base running metrics. The Nationals do not have a plethora of elite hitters. To win games next season, new management needs to drill down the importance of base running and how it can help the team generate offense and win games.
The new front office also needs to continue to target athletic players who are good base runners. Players like Josh Bell and Paul Dejong, who the Nationals acquired last offseason were subpar baserunners who did not help the team create a dynamic offense. There are cheap players that the Nationals can target to fill stop gap roles who are also solid base runners. Rebuilding teams like the Nationals need to especially prioritize acquiring good base runners when runs are already a premium with below average and developing bats.