Washington Nationals: Projecting the Lineup Statistics
By Ron Juckett
ANTHONY RENDON
AVG PROJECTION: .270-.276 OBP PROJECTION: .345-.354 SLG PROJECTION: .443-.450 WAR ESTIMATE: 3.3-3.8
The models call for Anthony Rendon to copy his 2016 performance and that is fine.
Depth Charts and Steamer like his batting average to go higher with all three saying his on-base and slugging are within the margin of error. They expect—even with a lower number of games played—for him to match 20 home runs and 85 RBI.
Now 26, Rendon is in the prime years of his career. Sandwiched between Murphy and Jayson Werth, he will get pitches to hit. As with Murphy, Rendon does not grab the spotlight of the bigger stars and goes unnoticed.
The drop in WAR estimate has to do with his glove, not the bat. Rendon plays a solid third base and there is no reason he should drop in production with the leather. Paired last year with Danny Espinosa on the left side of the infield last year, they added roughly four wins.
Although Turner’s defense at short is unknown, early returns are good. As he becomes comfortable at short, Turner and Rendon will be a formidable pair and stronger than the right side.
The computers like Rendon and so do we. He figures to have a strong 2017.