CJ Abrams: Our new man in the middle

[Slateman]

Everyone piling on Corbin, but figured we had an off day to spread the love.

0-4 with 3 errors is probably not the Opening Day debut Abrams was looking for

[Smithian]

For a position player, I can’t think of a worse Opening Day for any Washington National. Shockingly bad.

[Five Banners]

Looked good Tuesday, hopefully he can shake it off

[catocony]

He looked like Ian Desmond on defense and Victor Robles at the plate. 

[IanRubbish]

He looked like Ian Desmond on defense and Victor Robles at the plate.

Hahaha

Let's see how he bounces back.

[rileyn]

I see no flashes of hope with this kid.  What exactly are his supposed strengths?  Speed?

[Slateman]

Freak athleticism and a 60 grade hit tool.

The thing you need to remember is that Abrams is not only young and raw, but also doesnt have a lot of experience. Whereas Turner played college and then 185 minor league games before his call up in 2015, Abrams was drafted out of HS and has only played ~120 games in the minors.

So, basically, he's going to take some time to develop

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Even last year, as a rushed rookie, his K% was well below MLB average (16.1% vs MLB avg of 22.4%). Wouldn't take a walk, but there's something to work with. I think his D has had some split opinions.  People here think it is a plus, which I guess is coming off Escobar at the end of his useful life and Garcia, but IIRC there's scouts who think he's an up the middle player but aren't sure that's SS, 2B or CF. As Slate points out, I'm not sure the evaluators have seen him enough to see all the potential derailments (like refusing to take pitches enough to build a respectable walk rate).

[Elvir Ovcina]

He's a 22-year-old SS with the tools to play the position.  That's a guy you give time.  Most guys with the offensive and defensive tools to play SS in the majors are in AA at 22 because shortstop is hard.  Nothing I saw on OD was egregious.  He's not Garcia.  He just didn't make the plays that day.

[imref]

he ended yesterday with a fantastic at-bat that saw him almost hit an opposite field home run. Hopefully that's something to build off of.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I buy what Svrluga says.  A measure of success would be progress at the plate over the year and being able to make normal plays at SS.

[imref]

I buy what Svrluga says.  A measure of success would be progress at the plate over the year and being able to make normal plays at SS.

he was pretty freaking amazing last year so i'm not worried about a slow start.

[Natsinpwc]

he was pretty freaking amazing last year so i'm not worried about a slow start.

I like him as a prospect but he was 0.1 bWAR last year and 76 OPS+.  So he’s in the bottom echelon on SSs. But fun to watch and he should get better. At the plate and in the field.

[Natsinpwc]

I see no flashes of hope with this kid.  What exactly are his supposed strengths?  Speed?

He’s a very good athlete and seems to have some natural instincts at SS. Not totally overmatched at the plate. After years of guys like Harper and Rendon fans need to temper expectations a bit. Everyone does not arrive ready to be a top player.

[Slateman]

I buy what Svrluga says.  A measure of success would be progress at the plate over the year and being able to make normal plays at SS.

Thats gonna be the measure for this franchise.

[Slateman]

Nice game

[DCsOwn]

https://twitter.com/granthpaulsen/status/1644522181177769985?s=46&t=Q_qc3R_qyMHAAFvlywNqzQ

[imref]

Abrams currently leads the team in slugging percentage.

[IanRubbish]

Abrams currently leads the team in slugging percentage.

and he's showing some patience at the plate

[Senatorswin]

He was making some nice contact for outs earlier until they finally started falling in.

[Natsinpwc]

and he's showing some patience at the plate

We knew you would be looking at that.

[Elvir Ovcina]

3 errors on opening day, none since.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

3 errors on opening day, none since.

that one had a feel of cascading negativity. Sort of like the kicker who misses wide right  then misses wide left then gets blocked as he tries to put the last one up perfect.

[Elvir Ovcina]

that one had a feel of cascading negativity. Sort of like the kicker who misses wide right  then misses wide left then gets blocked as he tries to put the last one up perfect.

Yep, and then also kicks off out of bounds to start the half because he can't leave one phase of the game behind.  Glad that hasn't happened with Abrams' hitting either.

[catocony]

Just like watching the PGA (the gentleman's NASCAR), you're really watching to see the meltdowns.  The pressure cranks up and by the time it peaks they can't hit a drive in the fairway if their life depended on it.

I just assume that CJ was nervous out there and that was it.  He got his Ian Desmond opening weak errors all in one game.