Don’t look now but the Washington Nationals are on the move in the National East. After a slow start that had them in the basement, the Nats are currently on a two-game winning streak and at 4-6 they are 2.5 games out of first as of this Tuesday (April 9).
Washington at this point is in a transitionary period, still trying to find talent to build their roster. MLBbro.com found not just one but possibly two MLBbros as a foundation to build on.
They are easy to find too. They happen to be playing on the left side of the infield at shortstop and third base.
MLBbro CJ Abrams is already considered one of the best shortstops in the National League and Trey Lipscomb has capitalized on his opportunity due to injury sine being called up on March 30th.
CJ Abrams on a historical offensive run along with his platinum glove?
CJ Abrams had a coming out party in 2023 in Washington and is building off the momentum this season. The former No. 6 overall pick and former key piece of the Juan Soto trade in 2022 has been one of the best offensive weapons the Nationals have had prior to him leaving the lineup with a jammed finger he suffered last Friday.
But before his injury, his stats show that Washington will need him back sooner than later.
CJ Abrams on fire first 10 games of season
In the first seven games, the Nats struggled to cross the plate, collecting only 27 total runs. Despite these offensive woes, Abrams had hitting slashes of .321/.387/.607 leading the team at the time in homers with two while adding five RBI and three stolen bases. MLBbro.com’s Jaelen Gilkey adds visual aids here to our MLBbro’s exploits early this season in the “Factz” segment…
Let’s go deeper with the CJ Abrams experience…
- Strong slugging percentage with .607
- Impressive OPS of .994
- Solid OBP of .387
The stat that the team and fanbase will be watching is home runs. Abrams has hit two bro bombs in six games, reaching that mark 18 games quicker than last season.
Can Trey Lipscomb’s early MLBbro performance translate into a NL Rookie of the Year Award?
MLBbro.com covered Trey “The Truth” Lipscomb over the weekend highlighting his on base streak and ever improving play in the field…
But this was the tip of the iceberg after becoming the first Nationals rookie to have three hits and three steals in the same game. One of those steals included a slick swipe of home in a 8-1 win over San Francisco.
Our MLBbro’s on base streak was snapped and he hit a mini 0-11 slump. However, his recent 3-5 performance with an RBI got him back on track. “The Truth” has gained the confidence of the coaching staff to battle through a dip in production and he has rewarded them in tow.
Trey has a hitting slash of .265/.286/.353 with a homer, three RBI, five runs scored and four steals. That’s a lot of production to squeeze into 35 plate appearances.
Two Bros on the leftside of the infield is indeed rare. Why? We don’t know, we just bring you the stats and factz, no matter how mindboggling.
The only combos of significance we could think of were both great contributors to World Series winning franchises.
St. Louis Cardinals: Ozzie Smith (shortstop) and Terry Pendleton (third base):
If the seed of MLBbro.com movement was planted, it might have happened during the era of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 80’s. The lineup was loaded with MLBbros such as Vince Coleman, Willie McGee and Lonnie Smith who burned up the base paths. However, the two MLBbros who shut down the left side of the infield were former NL MVP Terry Pendleton and the “Wizard of Oz”, Ozzie Smith.
Pendleton was one of the steadier third basemen throughout his career and his 1985 partnership was one of the more exciting combinations not just in MLBbro history, but in baseball history. The multi-tool skills of the pair helped lead the Cardinals to the World Series losing to the Minnesota Twins led by MLBbro icon, Kirby Puckett.
Even though Pendleton couldn’t help deliver a championship, he was vital to deep playoff runs. He played in five World Series in his career.
Ozzie Smith’s accomplishments could fill up a whole article, about six videos and even his trade to St. Louis for Garry Templeton is reality show material (on Templeton’s side). He could be partnered with any MLBbro and would qualify. He is considered the greatest defensive shortstop ever…period.
- 13 Gold Gloves
- Inducted into the Hall of Fame.
- Worked himself into a solid switch hitter. After this 1985 playoff walk off homer, the power came from his left side if you ask a Dodgers fan!
While this duo had multiple chances over their careers to get to the World Series, only Ozzie Smith tasted the champagne. This duo however had a different outcome.
Derek Jeter (shortstop) and Charlie Hayes (third base):
These two collaborated the strong side of the infield to a World Series title in 1996 ending a championship drought dating back to 1978. Charlie Hayes was very instrumental in the victory with some timely hits throughout. He was also the one that sealed the championship, catching the final out in Game 6…
It was the only championship of Hayes’ career, but it was only the first of five for MLBbro icon Jeter.
Derek Jeter Became Yankees Idol
Derek Jeter became the modern-day New York Yankees legend with this MLBbro infield connection. Jeter parlayed this into a Yankees dynasty winning three more in 1998, 1999 and 2000. His final championship for the thumb came in 2009. His stats were impressive, but it is his leadership in the New York spotlight, something not seen since Reggie Jackson and was missing until Aaron Judge, that makes him a legend.
It will take some time for the Washington Nationals to catch up with the success of the St. Louis Cardinals of the 1980’s or the New York Yankees of the late 90’s to the 2000s, but the future is now the dynamic left side duo of CJ Abrams and Trey Lipscomb at shortstop and third base.
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