Washington Nationals: Bat Victor Robles Higher in Lineup

Washington Nationals center fielder Victor Robles is scorching hot to start the 2019 season.  At what point should he be moved up in the lineup?

Are the Washington Nationals good at developing outfield talent or what?

Last season, rookie Juan Soto burst onto the Major League scene and crushed baseball after baseball, totaling a .892 OPS by the season’s end.

Combining his high-prospect status with his 2018 performance, Derek Carty, curator of THE BAT projection system located on Fangraphs.com, ranked Soto as the 7th best pure hitter in baseball.

Now, with the 2019 season already 10% completed, Victor Robles is picking up where Soto left off.

Over the first eight games of the season, Robles slashed .269/.387/.615.  That’s a 1.002 OPS!

Naturally, regression was expected.  However, Robles is still hitting the ball well.  In the last ten games, Robles has a .758 OPS, making his season mark .860

Robles is reaching his OPS mark through sheer power.  Nine of Robles’ 17 hits this season have gone for extra bases, including three home runs and a triple.

Additionally, Robles is a threat on the basepaths as he has stolen three bases while being caught just once.

If Robles keeps producing, manager Davey Martinez might consider moving him out of the nine spot.  Yes, Martinez has insisted that he likes Robles batting ninth in front of Adam Eaton.

However, one cannot ignore the inadequate production from Brian Dozier and the catcher position overall.

In whichever order you like, Eaton, Soto, Anthony Rendon, and Trea Turner (when he comes back) are the optimal first four batters in the lineup.

Ryan Zimmerman has an OPS of 565.  Dozier is at .546, and Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes don’t come within 100 points of Robles’ total.

One thing is clear: The Nationals losing production by batting Robles ninth.

Per the math of Derek Carty, in any given game, the number five hitter has an 89% chance of receiving at least four plate appearances.  The number six hitter has an 81% chance.  The number nine hitter has a 48% chance.

Robles production doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.  Eventually, Robles may force Martinez’s hand and rise up in the batting order.  If that doesn’t happen soon, the Nats risk losing significant offensive production if the other players don’t start producing soon.