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Washington Nationals: Trea Turner’s game speeding up

By Ricky Keeler |
Jun 7, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner (7) dives into third base on a triple in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers of the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 7, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner (7) dives into third base on a triple in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers of the game at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals are getting more stolen bases and walks from Trea Turner in the month of June and it’s fun to watch

When Trea Turner first came back from his hamstring injury, the Washington Nationals shortstop wasn’t stealing as many bases as fans might’ve hoped for. Now that he’s healthy, Turner is back to being a pain in the neck for opposing pitchers whenever he reaches first base.

Whenever I live tweet games for the website, I always say when Turner reaches first base “let the speed games begin.” On a night where the Nats might not have the home run power working, Turner can always be used to manufacture a run by stealing a couple of bases.

For example, let’s take a look at the 2-1 win the Nats had against the Dodgers on Tuesday night. After an infield single to start the game, Turner stole second and third and eventually scored on a Bryce Harper sacrifice fly two batters later.

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June has been a great month for Turner in the stolen base department. After stealing nine bases for the entire month of May, the 23-year-old has eight stolen bases on nine attempts this month. He has three more stolen bases than anyone in baseball in June (Dee Gordon is second with five).

While the Nats may run into some outs on the bases sometimes, their aggressive baserunning can also lead to runs. They did that last year and you have started to see some of that come back this season. Over the last week, they have tried the double steal with Turner and Harper twice and it worked both times.

Turner’s stolen bases are always going to make headlines, but he has also seen more pitches lately. Over the last seven games, he has seen 121 pitches (most on the Nats). Also, he has four walks this month, which is more than he had in all of May (three) and only two less than all of April (six).

Right now, the Washington Nationals could use more production out of the number two spot in the batting order. With that being said, Brian Goodwin or Ryan Raburn just need to move the runner over if Turner can get on-base and steal second. Even though it would be an out, it would be a productive out.

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After a slow start to the season that did include injury, Turner once again looks like the player that sparked the offense in 2016. Yes, Turner made two errors in the field and didn’t have a hit in last night’s loss to Texas, but don’t let that take away from his good numbers lately.

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