Keibert Ruiz

He's gonna be a guy that steps up.

Keibert Ruiz, we expect even more from him in year two in this system.

James Wood, healthy 162, we think that he's going to be a 40 home run bat.

Okay.

They are a power hitting team.

They were able to supplement guys like Curtis Mead.

They were able to turn seasons around for Keibert Ruiz and Curtis Mead as well.

So I have faith in it, and I'm not saying it's going to happen, but what if everything does not fire on all cylinders, and what if the Nationals really do take that step back? Is it gonna be the pitching that takes that step up that I think not a lot of people expect for them to do? I think Connor Early's gonna come in and help this rotation, but does Andrew Alvarez replicate what he did in the second half this season? It's a fair question.

You saw guys like Curtis Mead, who the Nationals traded for right before the season started, career year.

Keibert Ruiz, career year.

Those guys all developed, and in particular with those guys like Keibert Ruiz, we didn't really have the highest expectations for them, and I think that with where he was as a hitter overall with talking about Keibert Ruiz, he was kinda written off for the most part, and I think that was relatively fair.

But then you saw the production from nearly one through nine in this lineup, and you're like, "Oh my gosh." Like Dalin Lyle started off the year really slow.

We're starting to ask some questions there, but then he turned it on again in the second half, and you're like, "Okay, he's starting to develop and make some improvements." But Dylan Crews, like while you did see that for portions of the season, you kinda just saw him go up and then back down, up and then back down, and you're like, "When will the consistency come?" Even Jacob Young.

You saw them bring in, uh, Curtis Mead earlier this year, which he certainly helped.

Keibert Ruiz took the step up.

Cade Cavalli took the step up.

You're starting to see these pieces come into place.

You saw guys improve dramatically.

Keibert Ruiz is a great example.

I had no faith in Keibert Ruiz.

I wanted Harry Ford to start on opening day and say, "I'm done with this Keibert Ruiz experiment." Not only was he a much better offensive bat, but he also looked a lot better defensively.

And is that because of this new front office and coaching staff? I sure think it is.

I don't think anything just clicked randomly this off-season.

For 2027, that's the battle.

And behind the plate, Keibert Ruiz is the starter.

We also predicted Harry Ford would gain more playing time.

Did that happen?

Who gets the starting nod when both are hot? That's a managerial decision that could define next year.

And behind the plate, Harry Ford and Keibert Ruiz.

We predicted earlier that Ford would gain more playing time.

Did he?

The two guys who got traded, Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead, step forward seasons.

Keibert Ruiz, step forward season.

Jacob Young, step forward season.

Andrés Chaparro.