Washington Nationals: Andrew Stevenson’s Historic Week For Harrisburg
This week, Washington Nationals prospect Andrew Stevenson had a historic series against the Hartford Yard Goats for Harrisburg
Since the fall, Washington Nationals prospect Andrew Stevenson has been one of the players on the rise in their farm system. This week, he started in center field for the Harrisburg Senators against the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies) and had a historic series.
In the first two games, Stevenson had a pair of five hit games and went 10-for-12 with six runs scored, three doubles, and five RBI’s. As Mick Reinhard of The Island Chronicles tweeted Tuesday night, Stevenson accomplished a bit of history for the Senators:
Andrew Stevenson gets his 5th hit tonight and is first Senator in modern era to achieve that feat twice and he did it on back to back nights
— Mick Reinhard (@Mayflies) April 19, 2017
Stevenson has had a great start to the 2017 season for the Washington Nationals double-A affiliate. In his first 11 games this year, the 22-year-old has a slash line of .447/.500/.532 with four doubles and 11 RBI’s. He is tied for the Eastern League lead in hits (21) and second in batting average.
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It is a small sample size, but when Stevenson gets hits for the Senators, it usually comes in bunches. The Nats second round pick in the 2015 MLB Draft has recorded a hit in eight of 11 games, but has recorded multi-hit games in seven of them
Stevenson took part in the Arizona Fall League this year and could’ve won the MVP award if Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres didn’t hit over .400. He hit .353 in 21 games for Glendale with two home runs, 12 RBI’s, and nine doubles.
That success in Arizona carried over to West Palm Beach where Stevenson made a good impression on manager Dusty Baker in Major League camp. The non-roster invitee was 8-for-24 with a home run and five RBI’s in 15 games.
When he was at LSU, Stevenson was known for his great defense in center field. He has brought that defensive ability to professional baseball, but he has shown a good ability to put the ball in play consistently.
During this offseason, I had the chance to talk with his manager in Potomac, Tripp Keister, about Stevenson. Keister told me about his work ethic and how that stands out when you watch Stevenson play:
“He’s a really good baseball player. If he has some failure, he’s going to find a way to make an adjustment. He continues to work and improve. He’s one of the hardest workers.”
It will be interesting to watch when the Washington Nationals decide to move Stevenson up to triple-A Syracuse. He is on a hot streak right now and is showing good skills at the leadoff spot.
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One thing’s for certain. Stevenson is no longer under the radar in the Washington Nationals organization or across Minor League baseball after what he did this week in Hartford.