The strikeouts have been mounting early in the season for the Nationals
While watching the first five Nationals games of the season, it is tough not to notice how much the team is striking out. The Nats made power an emphasis all offseason, and it seems like hitters are willing to trade off some contact to hit for more power. This is a fine tradeoff to make, but right now the strikeouts are slightly out of control.
It is a small sample size, but the Nationals lead baseball in strikeout percentage, with a jarring 32.8 K%. This is especially noticeable because last year had the sixth lowest strikeout rate in baseball with a 20.4 K%.
In the Nationals first five games, they have struck out at least nine times in all five games and were in the double digits in four of them. This is weird to see for a team that has put such a heavy emphasis on putting the ball in play in recent years. Honestly, I like that the Nats are willing to strikeout more in exchange for power.
There has been more power this year as well. Yesterday was the first time this season they did not hit a home run. Also, 18 of the Nationals 37 hits this season have gone for extra bases. Last year, the Nats needed to put together sustained rallies to put runs on the board, but so far this year it has been much more of a quick strike offense.
Despite the positives, the strikeouts have to come down. Josh Bell, Nathaniel Lowe, James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Paul DeJong are all striking out at least a third of the time. That is not a sustainable model for good offense.
For guys like Lowe, Wood, and Crews, it just feels like they are being very passive at the plate. They are constantly behind in counts with two strikes on them very quickly. Crews just seems out of whack, but patience is a big part of Wood and Lowe’s games. There is a fine line between patient and passive, and these guys need to find that line. Wood in particular has been striking out looking way too often. He is young, so I believe he will figure out how to refine his approach with two strikes.
Last year, the Nationals hit the second fewest homers in baseball. It feels like Mike Rizzo, Davey Martinez, and Darnell Coles were laser focused on fixing that this offseason. The Nationals not only brought in power bats, but they also changed their approach at the plate. They are trying to do damage rather than hit singles. However, there are trade offs that come with this and we are seeing that right now with all the strikeouts.
It is still very early in the season, so the strikeouts will inevitably come down. However, I think this damage first approach is here to stay and we will see an uptick in strikeouts for the Nats compared to last season. I think the trade off will be worth it in the long run, but the Nats cannot be striking out more than 30% of the time as a team going forward.