LOS ANGELES – The Nationals’ recent offensive struggles haven’t fallen on the shoulders of CJ Abrams. If anything, the shortstop and leadoff man has performed better as the team has performed worse as a whole.
After a sluggish start to his month, Abrams has taken off in the last two weeks. He enters tonight’s game against the Dodgers batting .372 (16-for-43) with three doubles, two homers, four RBIs and four stolen bases over his last 11 games (10 of those losses for the Nats).
Along with a healthy amount of loud contact, Abrams has also shown more patience at the plate, drawing six walks during that 11-game stretch, nearly one-third of his season total.
“We’ve talked to him a lot about being more selective, getting pitches (to hit),” manager Davey Martinez said. “I don’t mind him swinging at the first pitch if it’s a ball he feels like he can drive. But he has been a little more patient, a little more selective. And you see his numbers creeping back up, which is awesome.”
Indeed, Abrams has begun to turn his season back around after a slow stretch. He opened the year in standout form, owner of a .313/.371/.569 slash line through May 20. He then went 8 for his next 60, which brought his season totals down to .260/.327/.456. He hasn’t climbed all the way back yet, but at .279/.354/.478 he now owns numbers more in line with the best version of himself. And his .832 OPS currently leads all qualified National League shortstops.
That has renewed buzz about Abrams’ All-Star qualifications. He made his first trip to the Midsummer Classic last year, then suffered through a prolonged slump in the second half. The slump this time was much shorter, and he’s shown an ability to get back on track sooner this year.
“His OPS is up over .800,” Martinez said. “He’s doing the things he’s supposed to be doing. I think (he) deserves it.”
Abrams ranked only seventh among NL shortstops in the first round of All-Star balloting released by Major League Baseball earlier this week.
* Riley Adams is back on the bench tonight, with the right-handed Dustin May starting for the Dodgers. But the Nationals’ backup catcher has a little boost of confidence after snapping his 0-for-32 slump Friday night with a towering home run off Clayton Kershaw.
“Obviously, the offensive results haven’t been there for a little bit,” he said following the 6-5 loss. “So it was good to finally get one and help the team in that situation. I just wish I could’ve been there to do more to get us a win.”
Adams had seen his season slash line plummet to .091/.107/.218 before connecting off Kershaw. Strangely enough, though, when he has made contact, he’s made loud contact. Three of his six hits this season have been home runs, with a double also on the ledger.
“We know he’s got power,” Martinez said. “Hopefully this will get him going a little bit. Plus, the way he’s catching – the throw he made today – is awesome.”
Adams did throw out Andy Pages trying to steal second during Friday’s game. He has now thrown out 5-of-18 baserunners this season, a 27.8 percent rate that’s well above his career rate of 15.9 percent.
Offensively, it’s still a work in progress. But Adams hopes his big blast in the series opener is a sign of better things to come.
“I’ve just been putting a lot of work in with (hitting coaches Darnell Coles and Chris Johnson) in the cages,” he said. “Mostly working on my timing to make sure I’m ready in every situation. We certainly still have a long ways to go, but it’s definitely nice to see that today.”