Who makes the Washington Nationals' Mount Rushmore of Hitters?

In case you are unfamiliar with the concept of completing a Mount Rushmore, over the next few days, I will be selecting 4 players to make the Washington Nationals' Mount Rushmore of pitchers, hitters, and players overall. I'm sure that my choices will be completely agreed upon by everyone reading this and there will be zero disagreements at all...(sarcasm).

All 4 of these selections made the All-Time Washington Nationals team that I composed back in January, so check that out if you haven't yet!

1. Ryan Zimmerman (2005-2021)

In what might be the only non-controversial selection of this Washington Nationals' Mount Rushmore of hitting, we have none other than Mr. National himself, Ryan Zimmerman. For years, Zim was the face of the franchise and the heart and soul of the club, one of the true bright spots for the team during some dark days, and he is without a doubt the Greatest National of all time. From timely hits to flashy plays in the field, Zim could do it all, and one can only wonder how much better his prime would have been if not for the constant injuries he dealt with throughout his career.

In his Nationals career, he had a slash line of .277/.341/.475 with an .816 OPS to go along with 284 homers and 1,061 RBIs. He made the All-Star team twice, won a pair of Silver Slugger awards, and even won a Gold Glove award.

2. Bryce Harper (2012-2018)

This is where it gets tricky. Love him or hate him, my second selection for the Nats' Mount Rushmore of hitting has to go to Bryce Harper. While many Nationals fans still refuse to acknowledge Harper's impact and legacy that he left with the club, the honest truth is that he was one of the best hitters in team history without a doubt, and he had the accolades during his time in DC to back that up. Coming up as the most hyped hitting prospect in MLB history, the pressure was on Harper to deliver early, and he did just that. Despite leaving for the hated rival Philadelphia Phillies in 2018, what he accomplished in DC can't go unnoticed.

In his 7 seasons with the club, Harper had a .279/.388/.512 slash line with a .900 OPS to go along with 184 homers and 521 RBIs. He was also a Rookie of the Year winner, MVP winner, 6-time All-Star, and a Silver Slugger winner as well. Truthfully, Harper is the most decorated individual hitter in club history, but of course he's still chasing that elusive World Series title.

3. Anthony Rendon (2013-2019)

In what was a very, and I do mean very, hard decision for the final 2 spots, the next selection has to go to Anthony Rendon. If you are truly a Nationals fan, you can probably already guess who the decision for the final spots came down to, and it truly came down to numbers for me to make my decision. During his time in DC, Rendon was a staple of consistency, earning the nickname "Tony 2 Bags" after his knack for hitting doubles. Despite how far he has fallen off since leaving the Nationals for the Los Angeles Angels, there is no doubt that Rendon was a key cog to the Nats' lineup for many years.

In his Nationals tenure, Rendon had a .290/.369/.490 slash line with an .859 OPS to go along with 136 homers and 546 RBIs. Additionally, he was a 2-time Silver Slugger award recipient, an All-Star in 2019, and had 4 Top 11 finishes in NL MVP voting, with a 3rd place finish in 2019 being an excellent example of why MVP voting should take place after the postseason.

4. Juan Soto (2018-2022)

I know what you're thinking, "how could you not include Trea Turner?" Well, the answer is simple. When you have a truly once-in-a-lifetime player like Juan Soto that plays for your franchise for multiple years, it gets pretty hard to leave a guy like that off of your list. As I said before, there were 3 names for only 2 spots, so somebody had to get squeezed off. Despite having the shortest tenure out of the 4 players on this list, the impact that Soto had on the Nationals was astronomic. He homered in his debut and quickly earned a reputation as one of the most feared hitters in baseball, and Soto hitting back-to-back with Rendon in 2019 was one of the scarier 1-2 punches in baseball. As I said earlier, it came down to numbers, and Soto accumulated a 22.8 oWAR compared to Turner's 21.3 in 72 less games, while homering more and driving in more runs.

In his time in DC, Soto had a .291/.427/.538 slash line with a .966 OPS to go along with 119 homers and 358 RBIs. He also was a 2-time All-Star, 3-time Silver Slugger, Rookie of the Year runner-up, and MVP runner-up in 2021. Most importantly, he is a World Series Champion as well, something that he shares with Rendon and Zimmerman, and even Trea Turner as well. This final selection truly tugged at my heartstrings, so I decided to let the numbers make the decision for me.

Plus, who knows? Maybe Soto will read this article and decide he wants to come back to DC in free agency this winter to add on to his already impressive numbers and accolades...

What do you think of my Washington Nationals Mount Rushmore of Hitting? Is there anyone you would have included instead? As always, please let me know on X,@DCBerk.