Rookie is hitting well in major league debut
When the Nationals travel to Miami next week for the last series of the regular season, most of their players will fly home after the finale and immediately settle into their winter routine. Rookie Chris Marrero already will be home.
The Miami native will finish his first month in the big leagues in front of family and friends when Washington faces the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium, less than five miles from Monsignor Pace High, where Marrero was a star baseball player and from which he was selected by the Nats in the first round of the 2006 draft.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Marrero, who still has a four-game series to play in Philadelphia starting Tuesday and then three weekend home games against the Atlanta Braves before then.
After grinding his way through the minor leagues one level at a time over parts of six seasons, Marrero, 23, has made a nice first impression at the big league level. Washington promoted him from Triple-A Syracuse on Aug.?27 — a few days earlier than expected — and has started him at first base in 20 of the 21 games since. That move sent established first baseman Michael Morse to left field, where the club expects him to play next season when regular first baseman Adam LaRoche is supposed to return from shoulder surgery with one year and $8 million left on his contract.
That makes for a crowded roster. And while Marrero has performed well, batting .280 with four doubles and nine RBI, the front office has already seen him in 2,310 minor league at-bats. The Nationals know what he can do. Even a better-than-expected performance in the field isn’t going to give Marrero any kind of edge for a starting spot in spring training. Not yet.
“That’s the maturation of a young player,” Washington manager Davey Johnson said. “Marrero his first few days here was feeling his way. Now he’s letting more of his talent out. He’s trying to attack the ball a little more. ”
Marrero hit .300 in 483 at-bats in Syracuse with an .825 OPS. He struck out 97 times there but raised his walks to 58. That plate discipline hasn’t continued in the majors, however, with three walks and 18 strikeouts so far.
That’s an issue. So is his power. Marrero had 14 homers in Triple-A but is generally a line-drive hitter. He had 30 doubles at Syracuse. With a limited ceiling in the field and on the bases — though at least improving in both areas — Marrero needs to produce at the plate better than his competition to stick in Washington. But all that can wait until next spring training. For now, he’s just enjoying the ride.
“I’ve worked my whole life to get to the big leagues. I’m here and I’m having fun,” Marrero said. “In Triple-A, I was hitting the ball well. I knew that if I kept doing that I would have a chance. It just came earlier than I thought.”
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