Washington Nationals: Has outfielder Michael Taylor won a starting job in 2018?

Sizing Up the Competition

Before this offensive outburst from Taylor in 2017, the Nationals had to think about life after Jayson Werth. The veteran left fielder is either going to retire or test the free agent market.

With this in mind, the possibility of the Nationals signing Lorenzo Cain or making a trade for Andrew McCutchen seemed like a good decision to make. Now that Taylor is putting up some really good big league numbers, it’s a waste of their money and resources.

Externally, there aren’t too many better choices for the Nationals than Taylor. Unless they decide to foolishly trade him and overspend, it’s an internal battle in the outfield next season.

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Taylor does have a bit of competition. When he suffered an injury of his own, the Nationals called upon a similar player to replace him. Brian Goodwin, another once promising young outfielder, took over and filled in very nicely.

Goodwin, who is essentially a left-handed version of Taylor, received 278 opportunities to face big league pitchers. Though his .251/.323/.498 slash line is not terrific, he did smash 13 home runs and another 21 doubles. The power surge was certainly a pleasant surprise and something which should land him on the 2018 Nationals roster. But will he earn the starting role over Taylor?

Taylor and Goodwin do look like a good platoon match. Taylor would face the lefties and Goodwin could take on the righties. Unfortunately, this does mean Goodwin gets the bulk of the starts and that doesn’t benefit the team overall. I wouldn’t expect this to work as a traditional split, but more situational and dependent on the pitcher’s name instead of the arm he throws with.

Next: Marlins 2017 Season Review

Options in the outfield aplenty, this is a good problem for the Nationals to have. Taylor’s playoff performance should give him a greater edge over Goodwin and anyone else the Nationals may have an eye on. Without too many other holes to fill and an already high payroll, the Nationals should consider themselves lucky that Taylor finally arrived and may get better next year.