Washington Nationals: Takeaways From First Ten Games Of Spring Training

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Taylor With Early Lead In Outfield Competition

With the depth that the Washington Nationals have on their roster, there isn’t much competition for a roster spot amongst position players. If you had to pick a position battle, it would be for the final outfield spot between Michael Taylor and Brian Goodwin.

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The competition isn’t over, but Taylor is off to a commanding lead. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise when you consider the 25-year-old has hit the ball well in spring training each of the last two seasons.

It was an eventful last week for Taylor. On Tuesday, he crushed a walk-off home run to left field to secure the first win in the new ballpark. Then, against the Tigers one day later, he had a home run and drove in three runs. So far, he is 7-for-18 with two home runs and five RBI’s

As for Goodwin, he is just 1-for-13 with five strikeouts in seven games. If there is one positive to take away from his numbers, he does lead the team in walks with four. Only three players in the National League have more walks than him at this point.

Both of these players have one option left, so either one can go down to triple-A to begin the year. With that being said. Taylor has the potential to be a power hitter and has more Major League experience. Therefore, he already had the leg up going in.

Next: When Will We See Scherzer?

There’s never been any question that Taylor had talent. The question instead is whether that talent can shine when the lights shine the brightest in addition to the great Grapefruit League numbers he puts up.

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