Washington Nationals lack opportunities for prospect Andrew Stevenson
Among the Washington Nationals highest-ranked prospects, Andrew Stevenson has the fewest opportunities on the big league roster. What do they do with the speedy outfielder?
The Washington Nationals let outfield prospect Andrew Stevenson climb the minor league rankings in 2017. From Double-A to the big leagues, Stevenson propelled forward faster than many expected. Unfortunately, in his limited opportunities with the Nationals at the MLB-level last season, things didn’t go very well.
Over the course of 66 plate appearances, Stevenson slashed .158/.250/.193. On the positive side, he did play good defense. This helped keep him on the roster as did multiple injuries to other outfielders. Not to mention, the roster expansion in September and his notable speed played a part.
Stevenson can continue to bounce up and down between Washington and Syracuse until he runs out of options. In the long-term, it’s hard to see him finding a place on the Nationals roster.
Players like Stevenson already face a steep uphill climb. There isn’t much room for light-hitting outfielders who lack a distinguishable talent. Though quick, he isn’t Billy Hamilton fast. His solid glovework won’t come close to what Kevin Kiermaier does.
From what he has shown, Stevenson is a platoon player at best. With the way the Nationals are currently constructed, there’s no real place for the young left-handed hitting Louisiana native.
Stevenson can play a role in MLB somewhere. It just won’t be with the Nationals.
Stevenson’s Roadblocks to D.C.
Adam Eaton is under contract for a few more seasons and doesn’t appear ready to decline. He takes away one opportunity from Stevenson.
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More daunting is the fact that Stevenson is competing against Victor Robles and Juan Soto. Both of them are notable prospects the Washington Nationals aren’t willing to part with for anything less than a guaranteed championship. There’s also the slim chance Bryce Harper stays in Washington which further adds to Stevenson setting up shop elsewhere.
We should expect the Nationals to open the 2018 campaign with Howie Kendrick and Brian Goodwin as the reserve outfield options. Should anyone suffer an injury, I guess that they would give Robles the chance to play regular baseball at the MLB level.
Next, on the list, we could see Stevenson experience more regular season action in the show. A lot would need to go wrong with other players before he ever has an opportunity to log the majority of innings.
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The timing isn’t right for Stevenson and a future in D.C. Look for the Nationals to shop him around this summer as one of their best prospects whom they merely didn’t have space for.