WASHINGTON, DC – That brother is getting the hang of it.
Nationals third baseman Trey Lipscomb put together a clutch performance on Tuesday, and he did it against a team he grew up just 45 minutes from.
Lipscomb came into the majors known for his defensive ability — earning 2023 Minor League Defensive Player of the Year honors. Still, he showed he’s a baller with the bat at the end of April — tallying eight hits in the Marlins series.
Seemingly, he’s continuing his offensive uprise, most notably against the surging Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday — tallying an RBI single that increased Washington’s lead to 3-0 and sent ace Corbin Burnes packing.
Born in Fredrick, Maryland, Lipscomb wasn’t a Nationals or Orioles fan, so he remained poised — a trait crucial in young players’ development.
“At the end of the day it’s just another game,” Lipscomb said.
Lipscomb made a quick rise to the majors, as after a career at Tennessee, he was drafted in the third pick of the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft by Washington.
After a successful Spring Training and an injury for third baseman Nick Senzel, Lipscomb was called up and joined the young core that has taken over the Washington rebuild. Through 26 games, the DMV native is batting .241 and has added five RBI to the mix.
Another piece of the Nationals’ young core is star C.J. Abrams, who is 23 like Lipscomb, but has played in 273 games and has seen how his fellow MLBbro has developed.
“We work together,” Abrams said. “We do whatever we can to help the team win. We get better every day. We have fun doing it, too.”
Unlike Lipscomb, Abrams didn’t record a hit in Tuesday’s contest but still boasts a .275 batting average, which helped his team reach over .500 for the first time since 2021.
Like a brother though, when one is struggling, the other steps up. With that, Lipscomb said he kept his approach and knocked an RBI single into right field. Following the single, Lipscomb also stole base and brought his total to six on the season.
Lipscomb’s baserunning ability seemingly helped him adjust to the majors, given the increased chance for bag-stealing in today’s rules.
“That’s kind of the brand of baseball now,” Lipscomb said. “Just get on the bases and cause havoc.”
Lipscomb’s aforementioned even-keeled ness granted him a big at-bat when his team needed it most. To that, Lipscomb’s manager, Dave Martinez, said the young bro is coming together quite well.
“He’s better every day. The confidence has been really good,” Martinez said. “I love him… he’s going to be a good one.”
Malik Wright caught up to Washington Nationals rookie third baseman Trey “The Truth” Lipscomb to discuss his journey, the rising Nats and forming the only #MLBbro left side infield duo in the game.
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.
With the MLB season in its infancy stages, sometimes it’s difficult to find MLBbros providing production in the same situations. While the Washington Nationals have found themselves with some early season struggles falling to 2-4 after a 7-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday led by three MLBbros, Andrew McCutchen, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Michael A. Taylor…
MLBbro Trio Pushes The Pitt Back To The Top With 5-0 Start | Cutch, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Michael A. Taylor Balling
…they have found a diamond in the rough in Trey Lipscomb aka “The Truth” who has reached base in every game (as of this writing). He got onto the field Nick Senzel broke his thumb.
Lipscomb placed himself directly in the path of MLBbro.com’s radar in his professional debut against the Cincinnati Reds legging out an infield single. MLBbro.com reporter Charles Nyonga was the first to highlight “The Truth” in the Nationals lineup in this week’s “Take That” segment…
Take That | Trey “Da Truth” Lipscomb Starts Rookie Season With A Bang for Washington Nats pic.twitter.com/UsjEC3HAeM
But how surprising is Trey Lipscomb’s early success? To answer that question, the transition from the University of Tennessee to the Majors needs to be looked at in detail .
Trey Lipscomb… An MLBbro InThe College Years!
Lipscomb had a strong career at Tennessee from 2019-22 starting 78 games out of the 103 games he played in. His performances at the plate spearheaded the Vols’ dominance in the SEC Eastern division, collecting the regular season and tournament championships in his final year with the team.
In 66 appearances our MLBbro tallied 89 hits with 22 Bro Bombs (first Tennessee player since 2009 to hit over 20 homers in a season!), 84 RBI, 68 runs, 19 doubles and three triples. Add the 26 walks he collected, it’s evident that this guy found his groove on getting on base early.
He parlayed a career .331 batting average, 24 homers, 103 RBI, 83 runs and 37 walks into being drafted in the 3rd round (84th overall) by the Washington Nationals.
Trey Lipscomb is showing that he is more than a bat… he is “The Truth” in the field with plenty of opportunities to back it up!
Our MLBbro won a Minor League Gold Glove at third base while spending time at every infield position. After a dominating performance at the plate hitting .400 in spring training, Trey was one of the final cuts the team made before being called up almost immediately on March 30th. That Gold Glove experience last year has really helped him in a three game stretch when he completed 15 opportunities at third place cleanly for outs.
Talk about being thrown in the fire at the hot corner…
In baseball, 15 plays in such a short amount of time is uncommon. Who led the National League last year with that amount of chances? Pittsburgh Pirates MLBbro third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. He had multiple situations much like Trey Lipscomb is thriving now. A couple of plays during this stretch illustrates this…
One of his better plays was turning this 5-4-3 double play to stop a potential big inning against the Reds. Notice how easy he makes this play look while on the move…
Check out the range Trey has here snagging a hard hit ball by Santiago Espinal up the line for a potential double. Even though Espinal made it to first base safely, the play by our MLBbro not only saved an extra base hit, but shows the potential of Lipscomb being able to stick to the main roster and contributing!
Plays like these here save runs for a Washington Nationals team that is struggling to score enough runs to win games to start the season. Even through this tough time, our MLBbro can help establish a defensive reputation for the Nats in the meantime.
Our newest MLBbro has done very well for himself in his first five games in the field and batter’s box. His ability to get on base while keeping opponent’s off them is found money for the Washington Nationals. While building an on base streak that has grown to five games, Lipscomb has made the plays that he needed to make with his glove.
While MLBbros such as Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge command the headlines as superstars, Trey Lipscomb is showing the importance of being consistent and steady.
Mookie Betts was in a class of his own during Opening Week, picking up right where he left off from the 2023 season that saw him finish second in the race for National League MVP. The most versatile player in the Majors earns the top spot on the inaugural 2024 #HighFive List.
1. Mookie Betts
Betts, who recorded career hit number 1,500 via a home run off of Logan Webb Tuesday night, is off to the best start of his career as he currently leads the Majors in nearly every single offensive category through the first week.
The lights shine brighter in Los Angeles, and this season the expectations have never been higher for a Dodger team that went on a spending spree this off-season after a disappointing playoff run; headlined by their acquisition of Shohei Ohtani.
What makes Betts’ offensive output even more impressive is the fact that he is doing it while being asked to play shortstop for the first time in his career.
The law of averages will at some point bring Betts down a little closer to Earth, but I believe he is prime to join the rare company of players that have won an MVP award in both Leagues.
2. Marcus “Stro Show” Stroman
The New York native looked sharp in his Yankee debut last weekend throwing six innings and allowing no earned runs off four hits with four strikeouts in a win in Houston over a tough Astros lineup.
Stroman, who signed a two-year $37 million deal over the off-season will make his home debut in the Bronx Friday night when their American League East rival Blue Jays visit for a weekend series.
3. Trey Lipscomb
DMV native Trey “Tha Truth” Lipscomb left his mark on the Washington Nationals front office and management during Spring Training as he hit .400 with a .900 OPS, seven RBI and a .540 slugging percentage.
After an injury gave him the opportunity to be promoted to the Majors, Lipscomb has made the most of his time through his first week, slashing .357/.400/.571 through 14 at-bats. Lipscomb hit his first career home run last Sunday; an opposite field shot to right off Reds reliever Buck Farmer to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh.
This weekend, he will look to continue his early success when the Phillies visit Nationals Park.
4. Ke’Bryan Hayes
Pittsburgh is off to one of their best starts in franchise history and 2023 National League Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been a major contributor to the success of the Buccos.
Hayes started the season with four consecutive multi-hits games, becoming the first Pirate to accomplish that feat since the legendary Barry Bonds did it in 1988.
Alongside former National League MVP Andrew McCutchen and 2019 World Series hero Michael A. Taylor, Hayes has the Steel City buzzing with the hopes of obtaining the N.L. Central Pennant for the first time in franchise history.
He has both scored and driven in five runs while posting a .333 batting average and an .868 OPS.
5. Josh Naylor
In 2023 Josh Naylor was one of the most consistent players offensively in the Majors and that has carried through the first week of 2024. Naylor, who drove in a season-high three runs thanks to two sacrifice flies and a groundout Wednesday against the Mariners, is hitting .318 with a .915 OPS and five RBI.
Last season Naylor collected a career-high 97 RBI. With a better Guardian offense expected around him this season, including a full year for his brother, catcher Bo Naylor on the roster, “The Impaler” will hit the coveted 100 RBI mark and possibly finish with close to 30 homers.
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