After another sluggish April, Bell counting on a productive May

PHILADELPHIA – Josh Bell doesn’t need to be told. He knows how much he’s struggling.

The Nationals designated hitter knows his batting average (.137 after an 0-for-4 showing Wednesday night). He knows his average exit velocity (86.4 mph). He knows his numbers with runners in scoring position (5-for-31). And, most importantly, he knows his team’s record (13-18) through the season’s first month.

Bell can’t help but feel responsible for it.

“It’s tough now knowing how good this team is, knowing how good this offense is, and knowing that if I’m hitting .200 at this point, I think we’re over a .500 team,” he said. “I take that personally. I know that I have some work to do. But hopefully I can make up for it here in May.”

Would the Nats have turned at least three of their losses into wins – and thus found themselves over .500 – had Bell been performing better at the plate? It’s debatable that one hitter can make that much difference.

But the point still stands. At a time when teammates James Wood, CJ Abrams, Nathaniel Lowe and Keibert Ruiz all boast an OPS better than league average, Bell ranks near the very bottom at .503. He’s hit four homers and driven in 13 runs, but he’s done very little beyond that.

“I haven’t had the results I’ve been looking for this year,” he said. “But I’m just going to keep grinding and hoping that things take a turn for the better.”

History suggests it will happen, and maybe soon.

Throughout a career that dates back to 2016, Bell has been a notoriously slow starter. His lifetime batting average (.223) and OPS (.696) in March and April are by far the worst of any month of the season. But his May numbers (.281 average, .827 OPS) are some of his best.

It may feel like they’re grasping at straws, but the Nationals believe history will repeat itself and Bell will find his missing stroke before it’s all said and done.

“I mean, he’s been that way his whole career,” manager Davey Martinez said. “I think once he feels it and gets going … consistency from him is what we’re waiting for, and I think it’s going to happen.”

Bell’s lack of early season production may look familiar, but his actual swing does not. After slugging only .405 last season for the Marlins and Diamondbacks, he made a commitment to alter his swing this year and refocus on hitting the ball in the air with more regularity.

Has it worked? Not really. Bell’s 24 percent fly ball rate is slightly higher than his career average (22.4 percent), but so is his ground ball rate (50.7 percent). What he’s lost is his ability to hit line drives, his current 16 percent rate down more than six points from his career average.

Bell is focused right now less on hitting the ball in the air and more on hitting the ball in the air with some authority. He pointed out how few fly balls he’s hitting over 100 mph and how many he’s hitting in the 95 mph range. It may not seem like that big a difference, but it’s legitimately the difference between a home run and a routine fly out.

“I’ve got to make a change here soon,” he said. “Hopefully it starts tomorrow.”

Bell’s swings, even to the untrained eye, don’t look great right now. You can see the uppercut motion as he tries to elevate the ball. You can also see he’s frequently late on fastballs.

“I think he needs to just focus on staying in the middle of the field, hitting the ball hard on a line,” Martinez said. “He’s strong enough that he’s going to elevate the ball. I know he works diligently. He’s the first guy working in the cage every day, working with (hitting coach Darnell Coles).”

If you’re expecting Bell, who signed a $6 million contract over the winter, to be benched anytime soon, don’t count on it. He has started 28 of the team’s first 31 games, batting either fourth, fifth or sixth 26 times. He’s going to be given every opportunity to snap out of his slump and recapture the form he’s been known to discover almost every May.

“As I said before, he’s very streaky,” Martinez said. “When he gets going, he’s going to carry us for a while.”