Jun 22, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) doubles against the Atlanta Braves during the eight inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Players I Love: Anthony Rendon
There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that Anthony Rendon is the most underrated player on the Nationals roster by the national media. He’s a well above average fielder, an amazing hitter, and he was just 24 years old in 2014. I understand that he finished fifth in NL MVP voting, but it still seems like Harper, Strasburg and even Jayson Werth seem to garner more national talk than the young third baseman out of Houston.
Nationals fans, on the other hand, know that they’ve got a true superstar playing the hot corner. In 2014, Rendon hit for a triple slash line of .287/.351/.473 with 21 home runs, 83 runs batted in, and 111 runs scored.
I’d like to take this moment to remind you: Rendon was only TWENTY-FOUR years old last season.
That means that Rendon is likely only going to get better this year, and that should make every Nationals fan across the country giddy. It hardly even seems possible that Rendon hasn’t reached his ceiling yet, but there’s no reason to believe that his best years aren’t still ahead of him.
I wrote earlier during the offseason that Rendon, not Werth, should be the player recognized as the face of Washington’s franchise, and I stand by that. He’s something special. Baseball is certainly a business, but hopefully Rizzo can work it so that Rendon is in DC for a very long time.
One thing that is certain, though, is that, Rendon will be playing in Washington for this season, and he’s easily one of the players I’m looking forward to seeing on the field this season.
Next: Crush of the Year: Michael Taylor