Washington Nationals: What to expect from prospect Victor Robles

The Washington Nationals surprised many on Thursday when they decided to promote top prospect Victor Robles to MLB. A unanimous top ten prospect in baseball, expectations are through the roof for this 20-year-old outfielder.

In 2017, Victor Robles will only sip big league experience. I expect him to get a fair share of at-bats and innings in center field, but won’t completely steal away playing time from Michael Taylor or a healthy Brian Goodwin. Instead, the better way to think about Robles is someone to keep those with more big-league experience healthy for the postseason.

Robles finished his minor league season hitting .300/.382/.493 in just under 500 plate appearances. He added ten home runs while stealing 27 bases. Robles spent most of the year with the High-A Potomac Nationals where he began to assemble a solid year. He was later called up to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators for his final 37 games. While there, he actually raised his batting average and hit for power at a more consistent rate. It was a promising promotion and ultimately helped land Robles in the big leagues a year earlier than anticipated.

Like many September call-ups, I don’t see Robles lighting the world on fire. He may hit well for a game or two and create a few early highlights. Robles may even help the Nationals win a couple more games before the season is through.

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Most likely, the Nationals ease Robles into big league at-bats as to not completely ruin his confidence. With their massive lead in the National League East, they can afford this luxury right now.

Trea Turner’s 2015 season is a good example of what Robles should do this season. Turner received 44 plate appearances in September of that dreadful season. He didn’t hit particularly well, delivering only a .225 batting average. Clearly out of his element, Turner was only present on the roster to get him a little more experience and to test how far he could take the promotion. Of course, his promotion the following year launched his name into many more households. Turner is now a borderline star who just needs to stay healthy.

Once Robles’ growing pains end, we should see a different version than the one with the 2017 Nationals. Robles is a leadoff-type hitter who doesn’t hit for much power but will finish the year with a high batting average. His ability to steal bases, while not as many as Turner, should also keep him at the top of the order.

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If Robles can add a little more power into his bat, the home run numbers could put him in a position to hit in the middle of the order. His 37 doubles this season jump out. Last year, in only a few more opportunities, Robles smacked only 17 doubles all season long. Even if those doubles don’t turn into home runs, we can still expect Robles to have offensive numbers more closely resembling Daniel Murphy with the added threat of speed.