Adam Eaton
With Trea Turner out of the lineup, Eaton is now the new leadoff hitter and he has flourished in that role. It shouldn’t come to anybody’s surprise that he is having success there since he was the leadoff hitter when he was with the Chicago White Sox.
In the four games that Eaton has hit in the leadoff spot, he is 7-for-17 (.421 average) with four RBI’s, two walks, and a .450 on-base percentage. He had good success against the Cardinals this past series as he went 6-for-13 with three runs scored and four RBI’s.
If Eaton can keep this success up over the next week, no one should be shocked if Dusty Baker decides to keep him in the leadoff spot and move Turner down to the number two spot. If anything, Eaton should at least stay in the top two of the order going forward.
One of the things Eaton does well for this team is his ability to take pitches and work the count, something the Nats didn’t do on Wednesday against Mike Leake. He is averaging 3.85 pitches per plate appearance out of the leadoff spot and 4.21 pitches per plate appearance overall.
As far as drawing walks goes, Eaton has eight walks this season, which is one behind the league lead that is shared by six others, including one of his teammates (Bryce Harper).
While Eaton has yet to be aggressive on the basepaths (two stolen bases), he has done everything the Nats could’ve possibly asked him to do in the first nine games of the season.