The Nationals have been an exciting team to watch this season. They are one of the best offenses in baseball, and after many years, fans in the nation’s capital finally have a solid team to root for. Here are some under the radar statistics about this year’s team:
1. Nasim Nuñez is the best baserunner in the league
Infielder Nasim Nunez is mostly known for his glove, but he has also been one of the best baserunners in the league. Nasim Nunez leads baseball with five baserunning runs, a statistics that measures total contributions from a player from baserunning. His speed and ability to take an extra base without getting thrown out has added to his value beyond his great defense.
2. Keibert Ruiz is a contact machine
After years of struggling to take the reins as the Nationals primary catcher, Ruiz is having a renaissance season. Part of his surge has been his ability to make great contact. This year, Ruiz is fourth in the league in “Perfect Contact” percentage. In 44 percent of his plate appearances, he makes contact that is lined-up, centered and on time.
3. Brad Lord has been a true relief ace
Run value assigns each pitch a value based on its outcome and then creates one number to show the value of one player’s contributions. Brad Lord leads Nationals’ pitchers in run value with six. The right hander has a 2.44 ERA in 48 innings pitched this season. He definitely has been the most effective pitcher in a weaker staff.
4. Daylen Lile's arm is extremely underrated
Daylen Lile has been a solid contributor to the Nationals this season, posting a .718 OPS. Despite concerns that he would not be a great defender in the outfield, he also has been solid playing there. He has a positive outs above average and his arm value is two which is in the 88 percentile of qualified players.
5. James Wood's exit velocities continue to break baseball
This is not surprising. James Wood has hit the ball hard for his entire career. However, he has shockingly found a way to get better. Last season, he had an average exit velocity of balls in play of 94.3 miles per hour. This was good enough for the 98th percentile in Major League Baseball. Wood has improved on that this season, hitting the ball 95.3 miles per hour. Despite already being elite at hitting the ball hard, Wood found a way to get better.
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