Dave Martinez Should Consider Benching This Player as Nationals Struggles Persist
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The Washington Nationals lost to the lowly Colorado Rockies at Nationals Park last night 6-4 after being up 4-3 in the ninth and not scoring a run after not scoring a run in the game's final four innings. Jake Irvin had a Quality Start wasted with 6.0 innings, three earned runs, and five strikeouts.
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According to ESPN Analytics, the Nationals had an 84.6% chance of winning entering the ninth inning.
Brady House, the No. 3 prospect in Washington's minor league system, was hitless in his major league debut starting at third base.
The Nationals' losing streak is now at nine games, featuring two sweeps and a loss to the worst team in baseball. There's enough time to make a comeback before the July 31 deadline, but with the season on life support, manager Dave Martinez may have to take some drastic measures to shake things up. He has already made comments on the coaches doing the best job they can, so something may happen on the players end.
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Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller put out a list of eight players who could see themselves getting benched this season if they don't turn things around. Unsurprisingly, the Nationals were represented on the list.
Keibert Ruiz has been underwhelming as the backstop for Washington and has failed to contribute at the same level as other members of the organization's young core. The 26-year-old is slashing .252/.287/.323 with just two home runs.
Ruiz showed promise earlier in the season, slashing .281/.333/.315 in the month of April, but has regressed down to .152/.152/.152 in June.
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Riley Adams is currently the only other catcher on the Nationals' roster. He is slashing .091/.107/.218 in just 55 plate appearances. Those are not amazing numbers to walk into if you want to bench Ruiz. But even just a temporary sit-down for a couple of weeks to get things straight could potentially get him where he needs to be.
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Anders Pryor is an MLB writer and contributor at On SI a part of the Sports Illustrated network. He graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Journalism and spent his senior year interning with the sports desk at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Anders loves spending his free time running in the park and being with friends.
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