Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
Name: Anthony Rendon
Position: Second Base
Stat Line:
2013 Expectations: The Nationals’ first round pick in 2011, went into the 2013 season starting in AA Harrisburg, where he finished the 2012 season. The plan for the Nationals’ number one prospect, going into 2013, was to play part of the season in AA, then move to AAA Syracuse eventually. There was a possibility where Rendon could make it to the big leagues sometime in 2013.
2013 Result: Well, it turns out the Nationals had a better plan for Rendon. He spent 33 games at AA Harrisburg, hitting .319 in 152 plate appearances, before getting pulled up to AAA. Rendon only played three games there before getting called up to the big leagues. He played three different positions, but primarily second base. He played in 98 games in his rookie campaign, getting to the plate 394 times. Rendon hit .265 with a .725 OPS and 23 doubles with 40 runs scored. He was a little shaky in some areas. The rookie made 16 errors in 420 chances, which is a .962 fielding percentage. I do believe that the errors will go down in his sophomore season.
2014 Outlook: Parring the Nationals do not make a drastic move, like signing Robinson Cano, Anthony Rendon will be the Nationals’ starting second baseman. Per FanGraphs, he is projected to play in 146 games with 608 plate appearances. In those games, Rendon is projected to hit .255 with a .733 OPS with 33 doubles and scoring 64 runs. Another positive is that they predict that Rendon’s walk rate will rise and his strikeout rate will go down. Rendon is going to be a major piece in the Nationals’ lineup in 2014.