Thanks in large part to a catastrophic slide by the Atlanta Braves, the Washington Nationals own a five game edge in the National League East. Their odds of winning the division sit at 94 percent, and they have the best World Series odds of any team in baseball. A big reason for their success has been the superb play of second-year infielder Anthony Rendon.
Following a standout career at Rice University, the 24 year-old Rendon was the 6th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. Injuries limited Rendon to 43 games in his first professional season, but he compiled a solid .233/.363/.489 batting line in 2012. He had his way with minor league pitching in 2013, producing a .319/.461/.603 slash line in 33 games in Double-A. Rendon played just three games in Triple-A before being called up to the big leagues.
Rendon’s first big league experience was solid if not spectacular. In 98 games and 394 plate appearances, he hit .265/.329/.396 for a 100 wRC+, spending most of his time at second base. However, the Nationals dealt with injuries and a disappointing start to the season and despite a late surge, they ended the year on the outside looking in.
At the plate Rendon combines good contact skills with plus power. He’s striking out in only 15.2 percent of his plate appearances, which is significantly lower than the major league average of 20.3 percent. Furthermore, he has 16 home runs and a .192 ISO which is 55 points higher than the MLB rate.
Rendon’s performance isn’t a fluke. He got off to a blazing start in the first month of the season, ripping the ball to the tune of a .316/.352/.544 line. In May pitchers treated him differently. Opposing hurlers threw only 49 percent of their pitches in the strike zone after attacking him with a 55 percent zone rate the prior month. He batted just .212/.292/.323 in May. Since then he’s made an adjustment, and he’s posted at least a 107 wRC+ in each month.
The Nationals have an impressive collection of talent. Their rotation features Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez, Doug Fister and Tanner Roark, who owns a 2.86 ERA. On the other side of the ball, they have Bryce Harper, Adam LaRoche, Ian Desmond, Denard Span, Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman. Strasburg and Harper get the lion’s share of the attention, and few players in baseball can do what they do. However, Anthony Rendon is quietly having a better season than any of them.
