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Washington Nationals: Trea Turner blossoming this spring

By Blake Finney |
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals slides into second base for a double in the third inning ahead of the tag of Adam Frazier #26 of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park on April 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals slides into second base for a double in the third inning ahead of the tag of Adam Frazier #26 of the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park on April 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

After a so-so start to the season, Trea Turner is heating up at the plate for the Washington Nationals. We take a look at the young shortstop’s growth.

A few weeks ago, it was cherry blossom season in Washington DC. Now it’s the turn of Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner to come back to life this spring.

After a slow start to the year, Turner was hitting just .203 on the 15th April. But with a high walk percentage and low BABIP, he was bound to turn things around.

Now over the last 15 games, he’s hitting a ridiculous .353 and more importantly, his on base percentage is .400. This has raised his season batting average to .282, much closer to what we expected at the start of the season.

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So what’s changed lately? Well as eluded to earlier, he was the victim of bad luck with balls in play. Before April 15th, he had a BABIP at the .250 mark. Considering that .300 is usually considered to be the baseline for this, that’s some pretty poor luck.

Since that date, he has a .440 figure, bringing his season BABIP up to .351. And given Turner’s speed, you would expect this figure to be higher than the .300 baseline with his ability to beat out infield singles.

This all makes for an interesting dilemma when the lineup returns to full strength. Most notably, will Adam Eaton return to the lead-off spot, or will Trea Turner make it his own?

The main concern which kept Turner from opening the year atop the lineup was the lack of walks compared to strikeouts. Before this year he had over three times as many Ks than he did free passes.

In 2018 however, he’s not far off an even ratio with 19 walks and just 25 strikeouts. And with Davey Martinez’s willingness to send his base-runners, getting on base is key.

Next: Stats, streaks, and upcoming milestones!

With injuries being the theme of the season so far, the Nats need those who are healthy to step up. Trea Turner is doing his best to answer the call and help get this team back on track.

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