Contact: Daniel Murphy
Putting bat to ball is skill number one as a hitter, and no one was better at that for Washington in 2017 than Daniel Murphy. Murphy’s 85.6 percent contact rate led the Nationals last year, and finished 19th in the majors. (Even more impressively, only three players with a higher contact rate also provided a higher walk rate, so Murphy was not just hacking away up there).
Since joining the Nationals in 2016, Murphy has amassed 356 total hits and a .334 batting average, second in baseball during that span.
Check out this MLB Network breakdown here, but specifically the first home run at the 22-second mark. As Sean Casey says, “You cannot teach this.”
Murphy is able to square up any pitch on or off the plate, and drive it to either field. When building the perfect player from square one, begin with Murphy and his incredible bat control and contact abilities.