Washington Nationals new offense pushes the timeline for these two hitters

The Washington Nationals lineup improved at the top, but they’ll need help from these two players towards the bottom to come full circle.

Through the acquisitions of Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber, the Washington Nationals checked off their top offensive desire: Power. Now they must turn their focus to their secondary need on offense: Balance.

Here’s a projected Nats’ lineup per CBS Sports’ Danny Vietti:

That’s a tantalizing top-third of the order, and while Schwarber isn’t your preferred well-rounded bat, rest assure he’ll provide loads of pop from the cleanup spot – should that be where he’s positioned most often.

Washington’s new area of concern should be the bottom of the order, where 23-year-old’s Carter Kieboom and Victor Robles expect to get their reps. Both players have high ceilings, though both players put forth unconvincing efforts in 2020.

Kieboom slashed .202/.344/.212 over 99 at-bats, hitting no home runs and only one double. Robles’ 168 ABs amounted to a .220/.293/.315 slash and nine extra-base hits.

The Nats hope that the duo’s performance lapses are merely a result of a strange and perhaps, unprepared season. They cannot endure repeat struggles from their pair of #1 prospects again in 2021, a year in which they – the 2019 World Champions – expect to return to contention.

Kieboom is still getting his feet wet in the majors. He’s played only 44 games with the Nationals, meaning he’s working through the unavoidable growing pains that every prospect encounters when making it to The Show. Robles, on the other hand, should be hitting his stride.

Washington’s center fielder is approaching his 5th major league season. He’s two years removed from a strong 2019 campaign in which he hit 17 home runs, 33 doubles, and leveraged a .326 OBP by swiping 29 bags. Most fans figured 2019 to be a stepping stone season to Robles’ first all-star-worthy season in 2020. Alas, it was far from that for the former #4-ranked MLB prospect.

Still, Robles is young and bouncing with potential. Fans should remain faithful in his future with the Washington Nationals, but it’s on him to secure their faith throughout the upcoming season.

If Victor Robles can take a few steps forward in 2021, and Carter Keiboom can play well enough to hold down third base, then the Nats are in business. Look at it this way: Washington embarked on an aggressive offseason because their offense severely sputtered a year ago, so imagine how beneficial turnaround seasons would be from incumbent members of last year’s offense.

Robles nor Keiboom have to be top- or middle-of-the-order bats this year. They can nestle in towards the bottom and perform with less pressure while knowing Trea Turner, Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Kyle Schwarber will do most of the heavy lifting.

The Washington Nationals ascertained their power surge. It’s now up to their talented 23-year-olds to provide balance on offense.