The Washington Nationals Need To Keep Star Shortstop CJ Abrams In The Leadoff Spot

Speaker 30s - 20.64s

It's the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. As the nationals drop two of three games down at Fenway Park,

Speaker 420.82s - 39.2s

one thing is more cleared than ever, and that is. CJ Abrams needs to be your full-time leadoff hitter. You are Locked-on Nationals, your daily Washington Nationals ORG podcast, part of the Locked-on

Speaker 039.2s - 46.66s

Podcast Network, your team every day. And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals ORG,

Speaker 446.74s - 712.74s

your first list in every single day as we are free and available. Wherever you get your podcast, I'm your host, Ryan Clary PERSON. You can catch you over on Twitter at Ryan Clary 11 ORG and as well as the show page at L.O underscore National ORG. For all your latest Nationals ORG, news and notes, make sure to check us out over on Twitter ORG.And if you'd like to make us your first listen every single day, make sure to check us out over on Twitter. And if you'd like to make us your first listen every single day, make sure to check us out over on YouTube, just search Locked on Nationals, wherever you get your podcast. And of course, as we said, including over on YouTube ORG, hit that subscriber button for me there. Later on in today's show, we'll be talking about this is a got-to-have-it series against the Chicago ORG. White Sox ORG will discuss that and why I think that and why I truly do believe the nationalsneed to win two of these three games. They sit one game below 500 right now. They got to win this series. I'll explain that after the Nat stock report, which will be in the second segment of today's show. And if you're in every day or you know what this is. It is your latest individual performances.Who's been hot? Who's been not? Whose stock is up and whose stock is down? We'll discuss that a little bit later on in today's show, as a couple of the nationals will be making an appearance on that big old stock report. But of course, let's talk about the weekend.The Washington Nationals, they dropped two of three games at Fenway FAC. They won Friday. I was kind of getting some good vibes. And then all of a sudden, you lose two of three games at Fenway. They won Friday. I was kind of getting some good vibes. And then all of a sudden, you lose the next two games. And the National sit one game below 500. But ultimately one thing became clear to me this weekend.CJ Abrams needs to be the Nationals ORG leadoff hitter. Ever since really the last week and a half, Davey Martinez PERSON is kind of mixed around the lineup a little bit and has put Jacob Young PERSON up the leadoff spot. As of right now, you look at it from just kind of the at the top of the water, whichever way you want to look at it.Jacob Young PERSON being the leadoff hitter does make sense. It does. Jacob Young PERSON has been a hot hitter. He's been playing very well. And in fact, he's probably a little bit better on the base path up to this point. But what is more important to you right now? The way that Jacob Young develops? Or is it the way that CJ Abrams develops? Because right now, you can talk about onething. One thing has become very clear to me is that CJ Abrams is more comfortable at the leadoff spot. If you remember midway through last year, when C.J. Abrams first got bumped up from the bottom of the order all the way into the lead-off spot, that is when he took off. That is when you all saw the big jump from C.J. Abrams PERSON, as to why the nationals should extend him. CJ Abrams took that jump once he got up to the lead-off spot.I cannot say this enough. It is a comfort thing, I believe, when it comes to CJ Abrams and where he bats in the lineup. I think CJ Abrams, maybe I could be wrong here, but the numbers don't lie. He just feels more comfortable up the leadoff spot. As he got in there in Sunday's game, he added a few extra hits. Because as he is batted in second, so far this season, and again, it's only been eight games batting in the second slot,but his numbers aren't that good. And that is when he has really fallen off with his production so far. So batting second, he has a 200 batting average, a 558 OPS. When he's batting lead off, he has a 301 batting average with a 949 OPS.And also digging a little deeper into that, over 113 at bats batting leadoff. He's got seven home runs in 18 RBIs. And 35 at bats batting at second, he's got no home runs in two RBIs. The reason why Davey Martinez put him up at the second spot is because the way that he's been driving the baseball, the way that he's been slugging, leading the team and slug being one of the better slugging hitters and all baseball the first month of this season. The reason why they put them up there was to orderto get more RBI opportunities for him. But I don't think that should be the case right now. Because again, we should have tunnel vision towards the future. This time next year, when you have Dylan Cruz, Brady House, and all the other top prospects, James Wood, who should be up here probably within the next few days. Not really, but you should be. When you have all those guys in the lineup, CJ Abrams will not be your second hitter. It'll be James Wood or Dylan Cruz PERSON.One of those guys. Those will be the guys to hit those RBI hits and all the different big hits throughout a ball game. But C.J. Abrams PERSON should be your lead off hitter. And that is the way that this structure than the national system right now, that is the way that things are lining up in my opinion. So if you don't have C.J. Abrams PERSON. And if you don't have them at your lead off hitter right now, in my opinion, I think that throws some things off. And also to kind of get into it a little bit more,I'm such a believer in the fact that you should not fix something that isn't broken. CJ Abrams at the lead off spot was never broken. In fact, that was the fix for what was broken prior to hand. That's when the national started to take off last year, in the second off of the season, when you put them at the lead off spot when he got guys like lane thomas behind himto drive him in when lane thomas returns you're going to have them batting second and that should be your hopefully lane thomas kind of breaks out again because this season it's been a struggle for him but overall cj abram should not be in the second hole and it's not the end of the world i don't think that this is necessarily the main reason why C.J. Abrams PERSON has kind of been struggling, but you put him back in the lead off spot yesterday. He has a couple base hits. He's getting on base again. He's wreaking havoc on the pace path. And a lot of peopleout there may want to say, well, let's talk about Victor Robles PERSON and all the mistakes that he's made. Listen, Victor Robles PERSON is out of the picture at this point. He's long gone. Jacob Young PERSON is going to be your center fielder. Jacob Young PERSON will be the guy moving forward because also let me add this. As we talked about C.J. Abrams's his first segment.It's also talked about Jacob Young PERSON. Because Jacob Young PERSON, while he has been batting leadoff, all the nationals have been winning games, I guess you could say. Jacob Young was voted a top 10 center fielder in all of baseball, according to Bleacher report in their latest power rankings. Jacob Young has been incredible. Victor Robles PERSON is out of the picture at this point. Yes, as he caused the Nationals ORG games in the past, has he had all these stupid mistakes that Davey Martinez PERSON has pleaded for him not to make over and over and over again.Of course he has. But at the end of the day, Victor Robles PERSON is gone. It's no longer a worry anymore. Yes, we understand he did cost the nationals a game game. He cost them a lot of opportunities on the base path. All the different things, we've read this book before.You've read this book before. All of us have. We know what the different things. We've read this book before. You've read this book before. All of us have. We know what the ending is. It's going to end up in Victor Robles being a fourth outfielder, maybe getting traded for a baseball at the deadline. That's what it will come down to.He's not going to be a part of this future. And as of right now, Jacob Young PERSON needed a day off. It was his first day off. And basically since he's been up from AAA ORG. So as the nationals kind of get acclimated to winning baseball and playing a little bit more competitive baseball overall, you're going to see some hiccups.That's part of the growing pains. Victor Obis PERSON is no longer part of those growing pains. We've seen it with him. He's had his opportunity. That opportunity is gone now at this point. And it's unfortunate because, again, this is someone who was a top five prospect and allof baseball, but still, it's out the window for me. He's long gone. The exit for him to get off to arrive at Nationals Park FAC and be your franchise center fielder, that exit was about 30 miles ago, my friend. It's no longer here. So these mistakes that continue to pile up for Victor Robles PERSON, yes, they are frustrating. Yes, I do want to see the nationals win. But also, I care a little bit more about guys like C.J. Abrams PERSON at the top of the leadoff spot where he should be, where he should be getting all the reps at.Because that is where his future is going to align alongside the Washington Nationals ORG. That is where the future is for this Nats ORG team. That is where he has had the most success. I care way more about C.J. Abrams PERSON, what he did in the leadoff spot compared to what he has done in the second spot. And again, speaking of philosophies here with baseball, it does make sense as to whyDavid Martinez PERSON tried to put him there. I understand it. You have Jacob Young, who is, I mean, a very good base runner alongside C.J. Abrams PERSON, but maybe even a little bit better than Abrams PERSON on the base path. But still, Abrams PERSON should be your lead-off hitter for the foreseeable future, and you should never mess with that unless he struggles.Again, I want to bring up this point. You do not fix something that is not broken. Now, let me ask you this. Was C.J. Abrams PERSON broken at the leadoff spot? I don't necessarily think so. And the numbers don't lie.Batting 300 at the leadoff spot, the 949 OPS, through eight games batting second, batting 200 with the 558 OPS. You tell me which one's better. I'll take bat and lead off any day of the week. Thank you all for making Locked-on Nationals WORK_OF_ART.Your first list in every single day is we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And of course, you can check us out over on YouTube ORG. Just search Locked-on Nationals WORK_OF_ART there. And while you're at it, make sure to check us out over wherever you get your podcast. Now, we got to get into a national stock report as if you're an everydayer out there, you know what this is.Who's been hot? Who's been not? And who's stock is up, whose stock is down. If you're not, this is where you get your latest individual performances, the best and the worst of the last week or so. We'll discuss that.Who's been into it? Who's been good? Who's been not? After we tell you guys about some of our very good friends over at PolicyGenius ORG. And guys, when we talk about PolicyGenius, you need to know one thing here is that policy genius is the country's leading online insurance marketplace. And of course, with Policy Genius, you can find life insurance policies that start at just $292 per year for $1 million of coverage.And some options offer same day approval and avoid unnecessary medical exams. Listen, life insurance is very critical for every human out there, especially if you have a family. So if you use PolicyGenius ORG, I need to know what is the best option. I can tell you this right now. PolicyGen helps you compare your options from top companies and their team of license experts is on hand to help you talk through it. And I canvouch for that myself as you can talk to a team of award winning agents who will walk you through the process of step by step. And of course, just call their hotline or whatever. Get in touch with PolicyGenius ORG and that is where they'll help you. And of course, PolicyGenius is they give you unbiased advice from a licensed expert support team, and that is one of the better offers in the book. So check life insurance off your to do list in no time with PolicyGenius ORG. Head to PolicyGenius.com ORG slash Lockedon MLB or click the link in the description to get your free life insurance quotes and see how much you could save.That's PolicyGenus.com ORG slash locked on MLB. The Locked-on MLB Fantasy Minute is presented by Price Pix ORG.

Speaker 1712.88s - 768.76s

Prize Picks is the most fun I've had to playing daily fantasy baseball and winning up to 25 times my money. Download the app today and use the code Locked-on MLB for first deposit matchup to $100. Exploring my skills on prize picks this season adds an extra layer of excitement to daily fantasy sports. With just a few taps, you can transform $10 into $1,000 if you've got the skills.Prize fix is incredibly user-friendly. I can make my selections and submit my entries in less than 60 seconds. And as the host of Locked-on Fantasy Baseball, there's some great picks for you. Offer Tyler Glass now to have higher than six strikeouts in his nextgame. Offer Casey Mize to have higher than 5.5 total hits in his next outing. Offer Kyle Tucker to have higher than 0.5 doubles in his next game. Download the app today and use the code Locked on MLB for First Deposit Matchup to $100. Again, download the app today and use the code Locked on MLB for First Deposit Matchup to $100. Pick more, pick less. It's that easy with price picks.

Speaker 4771.92s - 1358.5s

Now we get into it as we have a national stock report. And again, this is where you'll get a stock up. If you've been good, stock down if you've been bad. So we got to start off talking about stock up for Eddie Rosario PERSON. I saw the comments last week. People were like, why haven't you given a stock down for Eddie Rosario PERSON? He's been awful.Of course, he was terribly at a batting average below 100. His OPS was a career low. He was doing terribly for this National ORG team. Since then, though, he read them locked on Nationals ORG' YouTube comment page. He's turned it around. He has three home runs in his last five games.And in May in total, this is his slash line. Get a load of this. He is batting 417, a 533 on base percentage, a 958 slug, and a 1492 OPS. He's got four home runs in the month of May and seven RBIs all the way through May 12. Eddie Rosario PERSON, again, the numbers, if you still look at them, they're not good,but they're a lot better than what they once were. Eddie Rosario PERSON has always struggled in the month of April. It's always been a sting. But since May has come on, Eddie Rosario PERSON looks like 2021 version of Eddie Rosario, the NLCS MVP, Eddie Rosario. The crowd in Atlanta when they're all chanting Eddie, Eddie, he was there, Howie Kendrick PERSON. Eddie Rosario has The crowd in Atlanta when they're all chanting Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, he was there, Howie Kendrick. Eddie Rosario has been phenomenal in the month of May. You have to keep this guy in the lineup just from the way that he's been hitting, hitting big home runs over the weekend against the Red Sox ORG.Again, three home runs in his last five games. Eddie Rosario PERSON has turned it on for this team. I'm not saying any Rosario PERSON is going to be a big trade acquisition at the deadline, but the whole goal of Eddie Rosario PERSON is to have something like that. If you can trade Eddie Rosario PERSON at the deadline for something, that is a win-win situation for Eddie Rosario PERSON going to a winning teamand a win for this organization getting another prospect through the window. Hopefully it's a pitcher, but still we're looking way too ahead. It is May 13th right now. But Eddie Rosario PERSON, he has been damn good. Stock down for Keybert Ruiz PERSON. I'm not saying I'm done with Keybert Ruiz PERSON.I still believe in the prospect that he is. He's no longer a prospect, obviously. The time is now. The time is now for Keybertra Wees PERSON to break out. Whether it's defense or offense, he's done neither. Key Barrewees PERSON so far, besides the bad defense,I always get just so flustered with this conversation. People are just saying, well, if Kiber Ruiz PERSON doesn't work out defensively, put him over at first base. In what world can Kiberra Wees play consistently at first base? Forget the defense. Let's talk about the offensive production with him.Because so far in the month of May, he's batting 147 with a 147 OBP and a 147 slug and a 294 OPS. He's only got five hits, all of them being singles, zero extra base hits, and again, he's playing really poor defense. At some point in time, Kibbert Ruiz PERSON is going to have to click. And again, the conversation of him and Riley Adams PERSON, it is a real thing. I'm not saying the nationals are discussing this, but you would have to imagine that Kibera Ruiz PERSON might lose his job this season.And it's kind of a bad look considering you just gave him a pretty hefty extension, which is a very team friendly deal, by the way. It's not going to hinder the nationals for years to come like a Patrick Corbyn PERSON and a Steven Strasford will. But still, Kibera Weez PERSON, it has not been good for him. And he's coming off after having the flu. He lost like 20 pounds, I believe, which is insane.So obviously he's still recovering, still trying to get right. But at this point, the conversation between him and Riley Adams PERSON, it is a real thing. The nationals are going to have to sit down with him at some point. I'm going to have to sit down with the pitching staff because there is a real hole between those two offensively and defensively. Riley Adams PERSON is not the best defensive catcher in baseball. He's not even close to it, in fact. He'sly and defensively. Riley Adams is not the best defensivecatcher in baseball. He's not even close to it in fact. He's not great defensively even, but he's better than Key Bearer PERSON. And at the plate at this point, he's a whole lot better than Key Bear Wees PERSON. So at some point, it's going to have to click for him because he's always been a very inconsistent player, but this year he's been consistent, but he has not been consistent in a good way. It's been consistently bad. That is a conversation that this national team will have to have because at this point,Kiber Ruiz PERSON is not on my good list. I am not a fan of what I've seen so far. I think the nationals probably have to have a little bit of a bigger discussion for the big picture of this team and what they're going to do at that catching position. Stock up for one of the late signings of the offseason, one of the late signings really of the last few months, Jacob Barnes PERSON. Through his first nine innings pitch as a Washington national, only one walk, seven strikeouts,eight hits, and a one-nine one-nine-one fielding independent pitching. Jacob Barnes PERSON has been a very pleasant surprise for this national team and a pretty strong bullpen in my opinion, this Nats ORG pen is looking really deep. You have guys like Dylan Floreau who have been common stock ups on this Monday stock report. You have guys like Hunter Harvey, Kyle Finnegan, two of the better relief pitchers and all of baseball this season. But Jacob Barnes PERSON has been a very pleasant surprise, a veteran who has hopped around throughout his career,and who is now kind of redeeming himself in a very good Nationals ORG bullpen. So seeing Jacob Barnes come in, shut the door through his first nine innings pitching again, let's reiterate those stats, only one walk through nine innings pitch, seven strikeouts and eight hits and a one-nine-one feeling independent pitching. He's been very good for this national team, a very pleasant surprise.You know who has not been a pleasant surprise? Stock down. Joey Manessus PERSON. He's kind of the one, I'm the teacher of this classroom. Let's say that. He's the troublemaker for me.I cannot see Joey Manessus PERSON in this lineup anymore. Some way, somehow, you've got to get Joey Manessus PERSON out of this lineup. He hit a home run this weekend against Boston, first of all season, but still, 148, a 250 on base percentage, a 296 slug, 546 OPS in his last seven games. And again, those are numbers with his home run included there. First home run in the season, by the way. Your designated hitter, your first baseman.Joey Manessus PERSON should not be in this lineup anymore. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of not seeing anymore. Power from him. When you have a designated hitter spot, you've got to figure out a way to get power in the line.Call up Juan Yippez PERSON. Call up someone in order to make a difference. Stone Garrett PERSON, when he's ready. He's been struggling down to the miners, but still, it has to be a little bit better than what Joey Maness PERSON has been doing, right? At this point, I just cannot tolerate being a,if you're a designated hitter or a first baseman and you don't have any power, I can't have you in the power spot. That's what Joey Maness PERSON is supposed to do. He just has not delivered, and it's been consistently not delivering for quite some time now. I'm tired of it. And again, I'm sorry to pick on Joey Manessus PERSON.It was a great story back in 2022. Last year was eh at best, and this year has not been good whatsoever. So stock down for Joey Manessus PERSON. And now that brings us to our last stock up for starting pitcher, Jake Irvin PERSON. Jake Irvin has been one of the better pitchers, in my opinion, in this national starting rotation this year. He got roughed around a few starts ago. But since then, over his last threestarts, he has 18 innings pitch, 13 hits, only one walk. Think of that for a second. One walk over his last 18 innings pitch. Jake Irvin last year had some control issues, but this year, and really in particular over his last few starts, he has been pounding the strike zone. Again, only one walk in his last three starts. An 18 innings pitched in total, Jake Irvin PERSON has been such a pleasant surprise for this organization. If you've kind of gone back and forth about how thisorganization has kind of been lacklustering the way that they develop pitching and not really just doing the best things because they've had a lot of first round picks like Eric Fetty that you'll be seeing this weekend against the White Sox. Jake Irvin PERSON has been a very pleasant surprise for this team. And of course, you want to see more from it because he has been damn good for the Washington National. So it's nice to see Jake Irving PERSON get back on it. But of course you want to see more from it because he has been damn good for the Washington National. So it's nice to see Jake Irving PERSON get back on it.But of course, the Nationals in the years past, they have had their fair share of struggles when it comes to developing pitching. So we'll discuss that because the Nationals, Eric Fetty, he'll be on the bump tomorrow night, a former first round pick for this organization. We'll have this series for you. And of course, preview it right after we tell you guys about some of our very good friendsover at prize picks. And guys, when we talk about prize picks, I want you to know that all things come with good things. The spring training is over. And of course, baseball season is officially underway. So don't miss your chance to add your favorite players from the diamond in yourprize pick entries, whether it's strikeouts, RBI's, first hitting runs, take your pick of more or less and add them to your prize picks entry today. You can get on the playoff action. We're up to 100 times your money on prize picks as you in the world's best players take the game to a new level during basketball's postseason. Of course, the basketball posting is already here. So maybe, just maybe you want to test your skills on prize picks for basketballand the most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. So if you have the skills, you can turn $10 and $100 with just a few taps. And prize picks makes it so much more fun to watch a baseball game or a basketball game. And of course, I've won some money. I'm not going to lie over on playoff basketball. So you should do this as well.So download the app today and use code locked on MLB for a first deposit match up to $100 again. Download the app today. Use code locked on MLB ORG for a first deposit match up to $100 again.That is code locked on MLB ORG.

Speaker 21359.92s - 1393.98s

Delicious meat's nutritious and the snack that packs a real protein punch wonderful pistachios. This is Ryan Fickleston, the host of Lockdown Mets ORG, and I love the no-shells wonderful pistachios so I can eat them straight out of the bagwhenever I need a boost, and my favorite flavor is their sea salt and vinegar. But if you're a pistachio purist who loves cracking open every nut, they also have great flavors like sweet chili and salt and pepper. Grab wonderful pistachios and elevate your snacking game today. Visit wonderful pistachios.com to ORG learn more.Now we get back into it as the nationals.

Speaker 41394.18s - 1586.1s

Take on the Chicago White Sox ORG, and which is a got-to-habit series for this organization. We've talked about it just last week. This national schedule in May is a very tough one. This is by far and away the easiest one that you will get over the next month. You have the Chicago ORG White Sox in Chicago.And of course, we'll have Eric Fetty's preview tomorrow show as he has been lights out for this White Sox ORG team so far. That's joining the MVP last year in the KBO ORG. So Eric Fetty, kudos to you. Former first round pick for this organization. We'll have that on tomorrow show. But of course, talk about a little bit here.But you got to have this series. Washington Nationals ORG. All jokes aside, three games against this White Sox ORG team. Today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, you got to win this. Because after this, you have three games against the Phillies ORG. You have three games against the Twins and three games against the Mariners, and then followed up four games in Atlanta.All of those teams are postseason teams. All of these teams are very good, very talented, very good pitching staffs in the nationals with kind of lackluster offense as a recent. You're going to have to pound the Chicago White Sox ORG, hopefully take two of three, if not all three of these games, if you want to stay afloat in the postseason race. It may be a little bit early to say this is a must win series, but if you can kind of reach down and see the Magic 8 PRODUCT ball, you got to win these games because wins are going to be verytough to come by. You go to Philly after this Chicago White Sox ORG series. Philly GPE has been one of the best teams on all of baseball. You come back home, play against the Minnesota Twins ORG, one of the better teams in all the baseball again. And then they have the Mariners at home.Then you go down to Atlanta for four games. This is not going to be a fun and little stretch here for this National ORG team after this White Sox ORG series. That is why you're going to have to take advantage of it now. And of course, on today's Locked-on Nationals team after this White Sox ORG series. That is why you're going to have to take advantage of it now. And of course, on today's Locked-on Nationals ORG, you have Trevor Williams PERSON, who's been the ace of this staff going up againstthe Chicago White Sox, Chris Flexen PERSON, who has not all been too great. And then tomorrow you have Eric Fetty, former Washington Nationals first round pick that we will be discussing on tomorrow show. And then you have one of the other aases for this team, Mitchell Parker PERSON. And then on Wednesday, day game, baseball in Chicago ORG. Feels pretty damn good to say that.Don't you love that? It's not at Wrigley Field FAC. But still, you have Patrick Corbyn PERSON on the bump. So these next two games, you got to win them nationals. Thank you all for making a locked on nationals. Your first list in every single day is we are free and available wherever you get your podcast.And of course, check us out over on YouTube ORG. Just search Locked-on Nationals ORG there. That is where you'll find your daily coverage of the Washington Nationals ORG. As I caught myself with a little bit of a cough there, a little bit of a tough day when it comes to allergies. So I'll catch you guys on the flip side. And of course, enjoy the Nationals game tonight.I'll catch you on the flip side of tomorrow show. Have a good one. Go Nance. podcast network, your team every day. Locked on Capitals brings you the latest caps news and

Speaker 31586.1s - 1601.58s

analysis and breaks down all of the action. This summer we'll talk about what moves the capitals need to make so they can be competitive in the fall. Subscribe or follow Lockedon Capitals for free on YouTube ORG or wherever you listen to podcasts.