Washington Nationals: Trea Turner Experiencing Power Surge
Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner is known for his blazing speed on the basepaths, but he has some sneaky pop in his game as well.
Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner was a one-person offense last night, driving in four runs, three of which came on his 11th home run of the season.
Turner guided a 90 mile per hour pitch from starter Anthony DeSclafani just over the left-field wall and placed it into the flower bed. It may not have gone very far, compared to typical home run distance, but they all count just the same.
Power has never been a significant part of Turner’s game, except for in his 2016 season when he lit the National League on fire by slashing .342/.370/.567. Those numbers were unsustainable, and he came back down to Earth, posting a respectable .276/.342/.429 in 2017 and 2018 combined.
However, this season, Turner is reverting to the part of his game that earned him second place in the 2016 N.L. Rookie of the Year vote.
This season, Turner’s slugging percentage is up to .482. That ranks eighth among shortstops in the MLB and ranks slightly above the MLB average for all batters.
Turner’s power surge started about two weeks ago when the Nats were playing the Braves at the end of July. Since July 30, Turner has a .531 slugging percentage.
Looking into more advanced statistics, we see that Turner has a .192 isolated power mark for the season, far better than either of his two previous seasons and closing in on his 2016 mark of .225.
Isolated Power (ISO) measures a player’s pure power and is calculated by simply taking a player’s slugging percentage and subtracting their batting average. The MLB average this season is approximately .205.
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Turner’s game is not predicated on power as Nats fans all know. It’s about getting on first base, however possible, and using his speed to touch second base, third base, and home plate. However, if Turner keeps his “sneaky pop” in his back pocket and can build on it, he can become a true five-tool player and an even more valuable asset for the Nationals.