Washington Nationals: Andrew Stevenson impressing this spring

After getting his first taste of the Washington Nationals last season, Andrew Stevenson came to camp with a renewed approach. And now he’s reaping the rewards.

Andrew Stevenson has long been thought of as a defensive standout. But, he’s now proving to the Washington Nationals that his bat has made some remarkable progress.

Stevenson has always been able to hit for a decent batting average, but never quite had the power-stroke of other hitters. That was until Kevin Long showed up and helped the young outfielder to unlock the power in his swing.

Since being drafted out of Louisiana State University by the Nationals in 2015, he had hit only six home runs in his entire professional career. But this spring alone, in just 44 at-bats, he has two long balls. With the latest of these coming in Wednesday’s 8-3 loss to the Houston Astros.

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He’s also tied for fourth on the team with 11 hits, six of those for extra bases. Watching him play this month, you can tell that he’s making every motion of his long left-handed swing matter.

Does this sound familiar? It should. Long did the exact same with magnificent results for current Nats second-basemen Daniel Murphy.

Before Murphy teamed up with Long in New York before the 2015 season, he hit .290 but had only once reached double-digit HRs. But after Long’s input, he’s averaged over 20 round trippers per season. This also doesn’t include his historic assault on the postseason he had in 2015.

And now Long aims to have the same effect on Stevenson.

In the off-season, Kevin Long made a special trip to see Stevenson in Louisiana. During the trip, the two experimented with a few different mechanics over a two day period, as Chelsea Janes from the Washington Post reported:

"Long helped Stevenson push off the ground to generate more power. He also urged Stevenson to follow through with two hands instead of taking one off the bat, to create the habit of finishing his swing more deliberately."

Despite the changes, Stevenson still has an uphill battle for a major-league roster spot with the Washington Nationals. So Syracuse likely beckons for the centerfielder.

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But, if he can keep putting the techniques he learned over the winter to use, then we may see the power numbers soar this season. From there, who knows where the limit may be for Stevenson.