Best – Victor Robles (OF) of the Washington Nationals – .255AVG 17HR 65RBI 28SB 35BB
The Nationals desperately needed a win to avoid starting 0-2, but they also required an offensive jolt to make up for the loss of their young superstar, Juan Soto. Robles stepped up and answered the call. He went 3-4, 1HR, 4RBI, and was a triple away from getting a cycle. Robles has been regarded as the top prospect for the Nationals for what seemed like ages. He finally got his first real action last year and had a solid rookie season. Robles not only has solid batting, he consistently plays great OF defense when he is on the field. With the talent he possesses, I don’t doubt that he could look even better this year than he did last year.
The Nats were already going to need to replace the offensive production brought by Anthony Rendon, who decided to sign with the Angels in the offseason, Ryan Zimmerman, who opted out of this season due to health and safety concerns, and now added to that list is Juan Soto, who tested COVID positive, and Stephen Strasburg, who cited nerve issues in his hand. The Nationals need all players to step up right now, and Robles has to keep up this momentum to help them stay afloat and establish himself as the next star on this team.
Other Notables: Brady Singer SP Royals – 5IP 3H 2ER 7K 2BB ND; Dinelson Lamet SP Padres – 5IP 5H 1ER 1BB 8K W; Leury Garcia 2B/OF White Sox – 3-4 2HR 4RBI; Zach Wheeler SP Phillies – 7IP 5H 1ER 2BB 4K; Phil Gosselin 2B Phillies – 3-3 2HR 3RBI 1BB.
Worst – Yankees SP James Paxton – 1IP 5H 3ER 1BB 1K 41P
The worst performance I saw last night came from the same game but on the opposing team. To put it politely, James Paxton was an absolute dumpster fire Saturday night. This game was supposed to be another great matchup with Stephen Strasburg taking the hill for Nats and James Paxton for the Yankees. However, Strasburg was scratched last minute, citing injury, which should have given Paxton and the Yankees a clear path to a 2-0 start to the 2020 season. Instead, Paxton just stunk up the whole stadium.
The Yankees came into this season as the prohibitive favorites to represent the American League in the 2020 World Series. They handled their business on opening night, beating one of the best pitchers in the game, Max Scherzer. The Yankees took their rain-shortened opener to start the season 1-0 but in game 2 of the series, Nationals understaffed offense said, “Not so fast, Yankees.” The Yankees are still loaded on offense, but Paxton’s performance has to be a little concerning since they need their starters to be at least be serviceable if they still want to bring another title back to New York.
Extra Trash: Robbie Ray SP Diamondbacks -3.2IP 4H 3ER 7K 3BB 97P; Kris Bryant 3B/OF Cubs – 0-5; Miguel Sano 1B/3B Twins – 0-4; Mike Trout OF Angels – 0-4.