Nationals Foundational Pieces Showing Encouraging Improvement in Key Area

The Washington Nationals know that if they are going to surprise people this year, it will be on the back of their young players developing and taking their performance to the next level.

Unfortunately, out of the gate, some of those key contributors have gotten off to an incredibly slow start, which has subdued the offensive production overall.

As a team, the Nationals have a .226/.291/.413 slash line with 12 home runs and 16 doubles. It is an encouraging start from a power perspective, as one of the goals of the front office this offseason was to add more pop to the lineup.

One player who has contributed to the early power surge is shortstop CJ Abrams.

An All-Star in 2024, he got off to a wonderful start last year before his production fell off in the second half. His demotion at the end of the season was a black spot on his campaign, but he has seemingly learned from his mistake.

He has hit three home runs in nine games, which is tied with first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for the most on the team. Abrams has added two doubles, showcasing excellent pop for a player at his position.

Part of the reason that he is unlocking more of his power potential is that he has increased his max exit velocity by 2.7 mph in the early going of 2025 compared to where he was in 2024.

Hitting the ball harder will normally translate to better results on the stat line. Abrams is experiencing that first hand and Washington has to hope that the same will be true with right fielder Dylan Crews.

One of the top prospects in baseball entering the year, he was among the favorites to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

Unfortunately, his putrid start to the season has some people already looking elsewhere when it comes to young breakout candidates.

However, this would be a good time to buy stock in Crews, as there are some encouraging signs that hint toward his production spiking in the near future.

His maximum exit velocity, as shared by Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required), has increased by 1.5 mph.

He has consistently been hitting the ball hard with an average exit velocity of 89.4 mph and he is putting the ball in the air with a fly ball rate of 31.3%.

Those numbers should correlate to an increase in production sooner rather than later. His batting average on balls in play is a comically low .188 and a regression to the league average of .293 will only help.

Strikeouts have been an issue for him in the early going, but once he adjusts to Major League pitching, he will be good to go. There is too much talent for people to give up on him this early on.