Abimelec Ortiz Ties Nationals Record During Red-Hot Start to His MLB Career
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The Washington Nationals were confident that Abimelec Ortiz could mash the ball.
He had hit double-digit home runs in every minor league season that he competed in through the 2025 campaign, which included an eye-popping 33 longballs in 2023, where 26 of them came at the High-A level.
But even president of baseball operations Paul Toboni -- who acquired Ortiz from the Texas Rangers this past winter in the MacKenzie Gore blockbuster -- has to be surprised about what Ortiz has done since debuting for the Nationals this summer.
That's because, through the first 14 games of Ortiz's major league career, he has not only slashed .300/.317/.700 with six of his 12 hits going for extra bases, he has also driven in nine runs and tied a franchise record with five home runs.
Abimelec Ortiz Ties Franchise Record
Washington's team account revealed that the five blasts from Ortiz through his first 14 MLB games tied the mark set by infielder Joey Meneses back in 2022, who took the majors by storm when he was promoted to The Show for the first time following the trade deadline after the Nationals shipped out Juan Soto and Josh Bell.
Speaking of Soto, he was also on the list. His three home runs through his first 14 big league contests back in 2018 tied the mark set by infielder Danny Espinosa in 2010. Outfielder Dylan Crews also hit three during his first 14 MLB games back in 2024.
That's the type of company Ortiz has joined, which is the latest example of him looking like the future of the first base position for Washington, which is something that they've been sorely lacking the past few years.
Abimelec Ortiz Looks Like Franchise Cornerstone
There was a lot of internal confidence in what Ortiz could become in his big league career. That's one of the reasons why the Nationals decided to trade away Luis Garcia Jr., who was in the midst of a breakout season and still had club control remaining.
So far, Ortiz has made that decision look smart. There are still things he needs to work on before he can truly be considered a cornerstone for this franchise. Namely, he needs to show that he can hit left-handed pitching.
Washington has opted to platoon first base with Ortiz against righties and Andres Chaparro against lefties, which has been extremely effective. However, taking that step to be an everyday player is what's next for Ortiz, which could come with an offseason of work leading into the 2027 campaign. Beyond that, he looks the part on defense with a defensive run saved already through 71 1/3 innings.
The sky looks like the limit for Ortiz. And after he tied a franchise record through his first 14 games in the majors, he looks like he could be a star for a long time.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai