Washington Nationals: Michael Taylor ready to become October hero

Washington Nationals outfielder Michael Taylor has done an outstanding job in his unexpected opportunity this season; making an impact in October is the next step.

When the Washington Nationals acquired Adam Eaton last off-season, it cemented what was already believed to be true; Michael Taylor would not be an everyday player. However, Eaton suffered a gruesome injury in late-April, ending his season.

While most fans were immediately calling for trades, Taylor stepped in and has not looked back. The young outfielder is hitting .274 with 18 homers and 17 stolen bases in his breakout campaign, outstanding numbers for a player who figured to play a bench role.

In addition to his phenomenal offensive performance, Taylor has played gold glove-caliber defense in center field. According to FanGraphs, Taylor has a 10.1 ultimate zone rating, which is third-best in the National League, behind only Anthony Rendon and Yasiel Puig.

Taylor also owns a 3.1 WAR, which is 27th in the National League, among the likes of Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen, and Willson Contreras. Certainly not bad for a supposed bench player.

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With his wide-ranging skillset, Taylor is capable of making an enormous impact in October. His speed can be an invaluable asset. When the Royals made it to back-to-back World Series a couple years ago, they did it with speed. Guys like Lorenzo Cain, Jarrod Dyson, and Terrance Gore were a few of the most important players for the Royals, just because of their speed.

While Taylor won’t strictly be a pinch-runner like Dyson and Gore were, he can easily turn a single into a double with a stolen base and get himself into scoring position. The ball does not carry as well in October, so being able to manufacture a run can be huge.

Taylor’s defense should also be extraordinarily beneficial. It is widely believed that pitching and defense win games in the postseason, and Taylor is among the best in the league defensively. He does an excellent job of utilizing his tremendous speed to get to balls that other outfielders would not even be able to get close to. He also has an above-average arm, which allows him to throw runners out and prevent runners from even attempting to take an extra base.

Finally, Taylor is clutch. The postseason is the most important time of the year, and how clutch a player truly is comes out in October. He has hit .429 with the bases loaded this season, which is terrific. This is especially important because Taylor has typically batted near the bottom of the lineup; if he does not get the job done, there is not much help behind him.

Most importantly, Taylor is getting hot at the right time. Over the last month, he owns a slash line of .312/.354/.570 with six homers and 14 RBI’s. If he is able to remain this hot throughout the postseason, he lengthens the lineup and ensures that there are as few weak spots as possible.

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While he was not projected to be an everyday player, Taylor has become one of the most valuable players for the Nats. He also has the perfect skillset to possibly become an October hero. Most of the focus will be on other players, such as Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, and Max Scherzer, but Taylor is capable of leading the Nats on a deep postseason run.