Washington Nationals: unfair to compare Carter Kieboom to Anthony Rendon

Round 2 of the Carter Kieboom growth plan is turning out like Round 1, therefore he has been optioned to the alternate training site.

If Carter Kieboom isn’t going to get repetitions at the major league level, sending him to the minors to play every day was the most logical move. Wait, there are no minor leagues this year. Tell me again why Kieboom was optioned?

Is he not the future of the Washington Nationals at the hot corner?

I’m thinking the reason Kieboom was optioned is because he is not Anthony Rendon, simple enough.

True, Kieboom has not had a good hitting season thus far. After four games this year, he was hitting .417 with four runs scored. Since that time he is hitting .132, and does not have an extra base hit on the year.

When Rendon signed a lucrative contract with the Los Angeles Angels this offseason, the Nationals knew there would be some growing pains with Kieboom.

To my knowledge though, Kieboom was not the reason the Nationals didn’t sign Rendon in free agency. Yes, he was labeled the heir apparent to the position, but that did not preclude the Nats from going after Rendon. After signing Stephen Strasburg to a $245M deal, there was simply no money to pay Rendon.

Had the Nationals not made an offer to Rendon because Kieboom was waiting in the wings, we may be having a different discussion.

From the start of the season the Nationals didn’t ask, nor were they expecting to get 34 home runs, 126 runs batted in, or an OPS of 1.010 out of Kieboom. They were expecting to groom a young infielder to hopefully turn into an All-Star in his own right, down the line, while providing some offense in the meantime.

Does the bumpy roads lead to beautiful places mantra not apply to Kieboom? Is he the weakest link in the offense right now? One which is collectively hitting .263, second best in the league.

Optioning Carter Kieboom to the alternate training site doesn’t make much sense here. He can’t get game experience there. I understand a roster move needs to be made to get Sean Doolittle back on the team.

Is Josh Harrison the future? Is Wilmer Difo the future? No, Carter Kieboom is the future, and he should not be punished for not being Anthony Rendon.