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Washington Nationals: 5 To Watch Against Arizona

By Chris Lacey

Apr 26, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) celebrates scoring a run with left fielder Jayson Werth (28) and catcher Jose Lobaton (59) in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 26, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (11) celebrates scoring a run with left fielder Jayson Werth (28) and catcher Jose Lobaton (59) in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Apr 28, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Paul Goldschmidt (44) hits an RBI single in the third inning against the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /

Paul Goldschmidt

Goldschmidt is among the elite at first base for the Diamondbacks. He is a gold glove defender over at first, hits for power and is a deceptive runner. He was struggling to produce at the plate as he had a .236 batting average and .800 OPS on April 19th.

However, Goldschmidt has found his stroke, by compiling a robust .315 average, .983 OPS, and 19 RBI to close out the first month.

Goldschmidt’s running skills were already mentioned with him swiping seven bases and has yet to be thrown out. He is extremely agile and possesses impressive baserunning instincts for someone his size. He will rarely make a mistake while running and it’s one of the tools he has that makes him a complete player.

The D’Backs first baseman has performed well in his career against the Washington Nationals. He has accumulated a .297 average and a .749 OPS in 31 games facing the Nats. Also, he has a .339 average with 27 total bases, nine RBI, and 21 hits in 16 career games at Nationals Park.

Recently, Goldschmidt finished a stretch in which he had five consecutive games with two or more RBI’s. He represents the biggest threat in the lineup for the Diamondbacks.

If the D-backs are going to have any success in this series against the Nats, Goldschmidt will need to continue having solid at-bats and coming through when scoring opportunities arise.

While Goldschmidt might get overlooked due to his club struggling the past couple of seasons, he’s an incredible player on a team that’s started the season in good fashion.

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