Washington Nationals: 5 To Watch Against Arizona
By Chris Lacey
Ryan Zimmerman
If there is one person sad to see the April gone that would be the Nationals third baseman. Zimmerman was hot as a volcano at the plate during the first month.He leads the NL in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS +, hits, home runs and RBI at .420, .886, 1.345, 244, 37, 11 and 29, respectively.
The significant difference between the start of the new season and last year is that he’s healthy and is playing with a ton of confidence. Zimmerman played in 115 games last year as he spent some time on the disabled list. He also looked lost at the plate and had a hard time getting into a comfortable rhythm.
The comfort level has skyrocketed for Zimmerman with him crushing everything in sight and opposing pitchers haven’t figured out how to cool him down. He is an early candidate for National League MVP and may earn NL Player of the Month honors for April. The high average is incredible, but the display of power is a difference maker.
He hit 15 home runs and tallied just 46 RBI’s all of last year. Zimmerman can easily surpass those marks during May if he remains on fire.
The Washington Nationals already had a solid lineup, but with Zimmerman tearing the cover off the baseball, it makes their lineup more potent.
It doesn’t look like he will be slowing down in the upcoming series against the Diamondbacks. He is hitting .307 with 12 home runs, 30 RBI and 13 doubles in 48 career games against the D-backs.