Atlanta Braves vs. NL East position by position 2020 preview: first base
By Seth Carter
Washington Nationals
Fangraphs projected team 1B WAR: 1.0
The Nationals struggled to find a steady presence at first last season with Matt Adams leading the way playing in 79 games. Howe Kendrick put time in all over the field, playing in left, right, center, and 48 games at first. Oft-injured but legendary Nationals’ first baseman Ryan Zimmerman was able to squeeze out 44 games.
Zimmerman was extremely limited last season due to plantar fasciitis. He was able to make it back in September to help lead them to their first World Series title. In fact, Zimmerman hit the first World Series home run in Nationals’ history.
This offseason the Nationals decided to bring Zimmerman back on a one-year deal and add him to the mix with newcomer Eric Thames and returning World Series hero, Howie Kendrick.
Thames looks like he could be the primary player in this platoon. Last season the left-handed slugger posted an OPS+ of 131 against right-handed pitching while only posting 81 OPS+ against southpaws. Thames did strikeout in an alarming 30.5% of his plate appearances last season.
23 of his 25 homers came against righties last season. Thames slashed .254/.348/.529 against righties. On the flip side of this, Ryan Zimmerman claims to be healthy and I’m sure the 35-year-old is in the best shape of his life. Zimm will be on the short side of this platoon due to his right-handed batting stance and his splits.
Due to injuries, Zimm had a small sample size to review, but in 49 at-bats against lefties, he hit .367/.415/.551. That’s no anomaly, for his career he has a .917 OPS against lefties. The short side of a platoon with Thames could prove to be incredibly effective for Ryan Zimmerman and the defending world champions.
Health and age is a concern for the Nationals. They have a nice one-two punch, but it’s only good for fourth place among our positional ranks in the NL East.