CJ Abrams: Our new man in the middle

[imref]

Via natsfarm: since June 16:
63 PA
.293/.349/.483
.190 ISO
124 wRC+
25.4% K-rate
4.8% BB-rate

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Via natsfarm: since June 16:
63 PA
.293/.349/.483
.190 ISO
124 wRC+
25.4% K-rate
4.8% BB-rate

  now let's see him do it for a month or two and I'll start to feel it isn't a blip.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

  now let's see him do it for a month or two and I'll start to feel it isn't a blip.

OK, I'm a skeptic about him at the top the order, but in fairness, he's on a bit of a heater in contrast to most of the lineup not named Thomas / Candelario / Adams. Kid is supposed to have a nice hit tool, and the raw power is showing up. It's just so hard with him and expectations given how little he played in the minors before coming up. Can hope that offensively you just throw out the first 180 PAs this year as getting MLB exposure and steady at bats.

Abrams has a chase percentage of 38.1 this season, though Martinez said Abrams has done a better job recently of being more selective with his swings. Abrams was 17 for 54 (.315) in his past 16 games, and with 289 plate appearances under his belt entering Friday, Martinez felt it was time.

[saw 12 pitches with a walk over his 1st two times to the plate]

Abrams’s third at-bat ended in a single after he saw six pitches off Cody Bradford. He stole second base to give Thomas another opportunity, this time with two outs. But Thomas popped out to first base to end the fifth inning. Abrams struck out swinging on three pitches in his final at-bat in the seventh.

“Yeah, I’ve been working on it,” Abrams said about his plate discipline. “That’s when I’m going good. When I can shrink the zone and hit my pitch is when things go good.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/07/nationals-rangers-cj-abrams/

[DCsOwn]

https://twitter.com/ajflax/status/1680419832041185282?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

[nobleisthyname]

https://twitter.com/ajflax/status/1680419832041185282?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

Not a big fan of SLG comparisons like this as it can get obfuscated by batting average, but Abrams actually has the highest ISO of any of these players as well.

But since my comment on June 16th about his struggles, Abrams has taken off with a 146 wRC+. I was definitely premature on him. My favorite stat though is the 10 SBs (0 CS). Nats need someone who can do something on the basepaths.

[blue911]

Not a big fan of SLG comparisons like this as it can get obfuscated by batting average, but Abrams actually has the highest ISO of any of these players as well.

But since my comment on June 16th about his struggles, Abrams has taken off with a 146 wRC+. I was definitely premature on him. My favorite stat though is the 10 SBs (0 CS). Nats need someone who can do something on the basepaths.

He has a higher HR%, XBH% and ISO than Bryce Harper.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

It was fair to say he was showing little offensively with some bad errors in the field up to mid-June.  Svrluga constantly says / said that measure for Nats success in 2023 is not so much how bad Abrams, Ruiz, Garcia, Gray, and Gore look at the start of the year as to how they look at the end. It's been a nice run since mid-June. The ability to hit HRs has been surprising all year. The steals are a nice part of the package: dangerous speed. I'm still not sold on the D, but he's always been a guy that scouts questioned defensively but said could hit enough to play another position like 2nd or CF if he can't stick at SS.

[Slateman]

He has a higher HR%, XBH% and ISO than Bryce Harper.

Kind of silly considering that Harper is coming off TJS and returned early

[blue911]

Kind of silly considering that Harper is coming off TJS and returned early

Just poking the bear

[Natsinpwc]

Just poking the bear

Bear hit a HR last night for first time in over a month.

[Slateman]

. I'm still not sold on the D, but he's always been a guy that scouts questioned defensively but said could hit enough to play another position like 2nd or CF if he can't stick at SS.

Ending  the Luis Garcia experiment and upgrading defensively at short is a double win

[blue911]

Bear hit a HR last night for first time in over a month.

I’m worried, probably unnecessarily, about his power. He’s no fun to watch if he isn’t mashing.

[Natsinpwc]

Just poking the bear

Seems obvious that the early return from surgery has affected his power. Still hitting around .300 and OBP around .400. Should be at 1B soon and won’t have to watch Schwarber waddle around LF anymore.

[DCsOwn]

https://twitter.com/dcsportsbuzzz/status/1680582542909489153?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

Incremental improvement is basically what you want to see from a kid with this type of pedigree and toolset at that age. He still needs to get stronger (and I suspect that he will continue in a positive direction over the next few seasons on that front), but he’s flashing AND starting to add some consistency to the overall offensive performance, which is a really positive development.
—

This is beautiful to watch honestly:

https://twitter.com/nationals/status/1680387095196475392?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

[welch]

And, of course, there is this analysis of and praise for CJ's improvement, by Jesse D. in the Post. We've all read it, but for the electronic record:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/07/15/cj-abrams-nationals-cardinals-doubleheader/

[DCsOwn]

https://twitter.com/dougherty_jesse/status/1680687685994676225?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

Here for the ascension 💯

[imref]

@mlb
Chas McCormick: .636 AVG, 3 HR, 2.188 OPS.
CJ Abrams: .462 AVG, 3 XBH, 1.385 OPS.

Your @Chevrolet
 AL & NL Players of the Week.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

starts to make up for Joey getting screwed out of it last year the week of his call up.

[DCsOwn]

https://twitter.com/talknats/status/1682573407580192768?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

It’s still star upside (as I’ve said multiple times in this thread). I remain a believer 💯

[imref]

he's 22 with about 250 games of experience

[JCA-CrystalCity]

he's 22 with about 250 games of experience

178 in the majors. Less than 700 PAs. It is an interesting contrast to Garcia, who has 1100+ PAs in the majors.

[Slateman]

178 in the majors. Less than 700 PAs. It is an interesting contrast to Garcia, who has 1100+ PAs in the majors.

Isnt it though? To be fair, Garcia has had a nice month before.

[Natsinpwc]

Isnt it though? To be fair, Garcia has had a nice month before.

Garcia had a decent 2021. OPS+ of 103. This year he had reverted. Just 87. BABIP wa a high last year. Maybe just lucky.

[imref]

Since June 19:
35 H
23 R
6 2B
2 3B
4 HR
13 SB
.361/.410/.588

if he keeps this up for the rest of the season he's going to get MVP votes.

[imref]

really might want to think about extending Abrams.