Washington Nationals: 5 to watch in Miami
By Ron Juckett
GIANCARLO STANTON
Unlike his teammates, Giancarlo Stanton is going nowhere this year. Healthy, mostly, he is crushing home runs while giving the Marlins a small chance for a playoff run.
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The feature name as the Marlins host the All-Star Game in a few weeks, Stanton around the numbers that nearly won an MVP in 2014. In 66 games, he has 17 homers and 15 doubles while driving in 45. His slash line of .277/.358/.542 gives him a robust .900 OPS. When adjusted, 138 is a powerful number. But, he trails Marcell Ozuna and Bour on the Marlins.
Because the Marlins offense has pop, this might be the first time Stanton scores over 100 runs. In 2014, the year he slammed 37 home runs, he touched home plate 89 times. This year, he has 42 runs to his credit. Hard to imagine him not crossing he century mark before.
Selected 76th overall by the Marlins in 200, they chose Matt Dominguez first. The Nats grabbed Ross Detwilier, Josh Smoker, Michael Burgess and Jordan Zimmerman before Stanton was drafted.
In their April series, Stanton had not warmed to Washington weather. Hitting 3-for-13, he had a double and an RBI. Chances for improvement this week are better.