Washington Nationals: 5 storylines to watch as Nats visit Marlins Park

The incredible Giancarlo Stanton

Giancarlo Stanton, the face of the Marlins, is putting together yet another amazing season at the plate. In July, he has a .289/.413/.756 slash line with 12 homers. July alone would place him fifth on the Nats’ home run leaderboard for the season.

Stanton is currently tied with Aaron Judge for the MLB lead in homers, with 33. Stanton is only four short of his career-high, and it’s still July. He’s always been one of the most powerful hitters in the league and is capable of going deep at any time, but he’s reached a whole new level this year.

While Stanton hits well against every team, he performs especially well against the Nats. In 92 career games, he has a .299/.387/.644 slash line with 29 homers. His .299 average is his fifth-best against any team he’s played at least ten times. His 29 homers are also his second-most against any team.

On top of Stanton’s success against the Nationals in general, he has also hit well against the Nats’ probable starters for this series. He has hit .273 in 22 at-bats against Gio Gonzalez, .273 with a homer in 11 at-bats against Max Scherzer, and .233 with three homers in 30 at-bats against Tanner Roark.

2017 has been a difficult season for Stanton in the clubhouse. He is having an incredible season as an individual, but the Marlins have been underwhelming at best. He has watched as some of his teammates have underperformed while others are traded for prospects. He has made it public that he doesn’t enjoy rebuilding and wants to win.

With the trade deadline falling hours before the beginning of the series, it will be interesting to see how any possible trades affect Stanton. The Marlins have struggled with their best players this year; trading them for prospects won’t do anything to help them contend now.

Giancarlo Stanton has been one of the most powerful hitters this season, and the Nats will need to do their best to contain him if they want to win the series.