Washington Nationals: Bryce who? Goodwin’s career night leads the Nats over A’s

Brian Goodwin is currently filling in in right field for the Washington Nationals while Bryce Harper serves his suspension. On Friday night, he filled in admirably and made the Nats miss Harper a little less.

The Washington Nationals drafted Brian Goodwin 34th overall in 2011, which is the same year they drafted Anthony Rendon. Goodwin has yet to make the impact that Rendon has made, but, coincidentally, he had the best night of his career while filling in for #34, Bryce Harper.

Harper is currently serving his three-game suspension for his fight with Hunter Strickland, but Goodwin had a phenomenal night on Friday night in his absence. In a game where all nine starters recorded a hit, an RBI, and a run scored, Goodwin stood out.

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Goodwin led the way for the Nats, going 4-for-5 with two RBI’s and a run, and did it all out of the nine-hole. That’s not bad production for a team who’s used to having a pitcher bat ninth.

Goodwin began his career night in the second inning by following up a Michael Taylor homer with a single into right field. If you had Anthony Rendon, Matt Wieters, and Trea Turner all getting out in the same inning that Taylor and Goodwin went 2-for-2, go buy yourself a lottery ticket. Goodwin singled into right field again in the fifth, but was once again stranded at first.

However, Goodwin really made his mark in the seventh inning. Taylor doubled in front of him, and then he got ahead in the count, 3-1, before crushing a center-cut fastball over the wall in right-center field for his first career homer.

His homer, which had an exit velocity of 103.8 mph and traveled 408 feet, was diminished by the Oakland marine layer. The ball does not travel well at night in Oakland, which makes Goodwin’s homer even more impressive. If he had hit it early in the game or during a day game, it probably would have been an upper deck shot.

Goodwin continued to rake in his final at-bat in the eighth inning, hitting a triple past A’s center fielder Rajai Davis. With the rare triple in hand, Goodwin was just a double short of the cycle. Goodwin receives limited playing time, and he may not be a double short of the cycle for some months. The fact that he almost completed the cycle despite not receiving regular at-bats is outstanding.

In addition to producing at the plate, Goodwin played phenomenal defense in the cavernous O.Co Coliseum right field. In the second inning, Goodwin laid out to make an unbelievable catch and rob Ryon Healy of extra bases.

According to Statcast, he had 3.8 seconds of opportunity time and needed to cover 60 feet. Statcast also gave him just a 38% chance of making the catch, which makes it a four-star catch. The ball was destined for the gap, and MASN play-by-play announcer Bob Carpenter even said, “That’s going to be in the gap.” Nobody other than Goodwin himself thought he had a chance to make the catch. He did an excellent job of showcasing his athleticism and defensive prowess on this highlight-reel play.

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Harper has one game left to serve on his suspension, so Goodwin is likely to have one last chance to start in his absence, but he has made quite the case to earn some playing time even when Harper returns. With Chris Heisey on the Disabled List, Goodwin could soon start to see extra playing time as the Nats’ fourth outfielder. On Friday night, he proved that he has a role on the big-league roster and deserves to stay.