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Nationals: Daniel Murphy Showing No Signs Of Slowing Down

By Grant Thomas |
Jul 10, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; Washington Nationals third base coach Bob Henley (13) congratulates second baseman Daniel Murphy (20) on his two-run home run during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 10, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; Washington Nationals third base coach Bob Henley (13) congratulates second baseman Daniel Murphy (20) on his two-run home run during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the All-Star Break, Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy is showing no signs of slowing down

All aboard the Daniel Murphy train! There aren’t many seats left, and it’s leaving Citi Field after a satisfying 4-game stay. The Nationals’  biggest All-Star this season has a serious grudge against the New York Mets, his former club. In 13 games, Murphy has hit .449 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs.

For a signing that was way down the Nationals’ (or any team’s) list, after Ben Zobrist and Brandon Phillips, his value this year is skyrocketing. A player has rarely surpassed expectations by this much through a first half.

While he is getting extra-base hit after extra-base hit, Murphy is thriving with runners on base (.366 average with a 1.003 OPS). This isn’t really surprising considering he is thriving in basically every situation statistics can track, but is significant based on his long history of hitting anywhere other than the cleanup spot with the Mets.

With a few changes to his batting stance, he’s become a prototypical cleanup hitter for the Washington Nationals while producing in other lineup spots as well. And he’s bucked expectations to regress back to his career mean in the process.

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He’s hitting .348 in 46 at-bats in the third spot, .321 in 184 at-bats in cleanup, and .411 in 95 at-bats in the fifth spot.

Since the second half of last season when Murphy made changes at the plate under Mets hitting coach Kevin Long. he’s closer to the plate, his body is angled in such a way that improves his angle toward the pitch, and his legs provide more leveraged with an increase in spread.

Whether it’s the physical changes at the plate or an adjustment to his mental approach, he’s won many a game for the Nationals during the first half. His performance has taken the place of Bryce Harper‘s decrease in hitting for average, and Ryan Zimmerman‘s continued decline due to injuries. He’s not only doing exceptional damage against his former team but against the Nationals’ biggest threat in the NL East.

In hindsight, this is one of the best signings in franchise history. He showed why again yesterday afternoon. Even though he went 1-for-4, the lone hit was a two-run home run in the top of the first. Very few games have gone by where he hasn’t made an impact.

It was expected that Bryce Harper would regress after his world-beating season, and he has. But the way Murphy is going, there’s really no reason to think he will hit any less than .330 on the season. He’s one of the most deserving All-Stars Washington has ever had. If the Nationals make it to the division series, he will be a major reason why they will or won’t advance.

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