Washington Nationals: Grading the offensive players

First baseman – Mark Reynolds

Despite only being brought in as extra depth in mid-April, Mark Reynolds hit the ground running for the Washington Nationals. He went 16 for his first 37, with six home runs and eight RBIs.

However, after that hot start, he’s reverted to the hitter people in baseball are familiar with. Since May 30th, he’s a mere 3 for 45 with 18 strikeouts and we can see why he was unsigned.

The strikeouts are exactly what you’d expect from Reynolds. He has the highest and fifth highest season strikeout totals in MLB history.

But the complete power outage since his onslaught at the start of his Nats career is concerning. Reynolds has usually been a sure bet to hit at least 25 home runs a year, but he looks lost at the plate now.

Ryan Zimmerman isn’t all that far away from a rehab assignment, and that could mean the end for Reynolds. At the very least, the end of his stint with the Nationals.

Overall, it was a breath of fresh air to have him at the start, and he injected some life temporarily. That start does boost his grade up a touch. But now that his power has evaporated, he doesn’t provide much to the team. C+