In the beginning of the season, the Nationals had a platoon first baseman who did so well he earned himself everyday reps. Of course, that was Curtis Mead, who the Nats have now traded. However, it looks like they have done it again. Andres Chaparro is taking the jump from lefty masher to everyday contributor.
For an offense that has not been at its best in August, Chaparro is still rolling. Getting more at bats than ever, Chaparro is hitting
.281 with a .932 OPS this month. Even in the Nats embarrassing 13-1 loss the other day, Chappy was still battling. He went 3 for 4 and produced the Nats only run with a solo homer.
There have been a lot of offensive success stories for the Nats this year. Guys like Curtis Mead, Luis Garcia Jr. and Keibert Ruiz were rolling by May or June. However, Chaparro was a slower burn. Despite being in the Opening Day lineup, he spent most of the first two months in the minors.
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When Chaparro did play, he really struggled early on. The fact Chaparro was playing over Luis Garcia Jr. against lefties was a source of frustration for some fans. Prior to the All-Star Break, Chaparro hit
only .167 with a .586 OPS in 31 games.
When the Nats came back from the break, a switch flipped for the burly slugger though. He is hitting
.305 with a 1.089 OPS since the ASB. There is one moment in particular that I feel gave Chappy a lot of confidence. In Sacramento, Chaparro hit an absolute nuke that sailed 467 feet. It was one of the longest Nats homers in years. That seemed to spark something in Chaparro because he has been red hot ever since.
Chaparro has had stints in the big leagues before, but it was almost like that titanic shot made him feel like a true big leaguer. Even when I am in the clubhouse, it almost feels like Chaparro is a different person now than he was at the beginning of the year. At first, he was pretty quiet and reserved, but we are seeing a more expressive side to him now.
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When I see Chaparro before games, he is usually wearing a Nationals Harry Potter tank top, showing off his massive arms. He is regularly chopping it up with teammates in a way that feels new. When Luis Perales arrived in the clubhouse, it was Chaparro who went over and had an extended chat with him to welcome the rookie to the big leagues.
This new side of Chaparro is coming out because he is having success in the big leagues and feels comfortable. With this success comes new opportunities. For most of the year, Chaparro was almost exclusively used against left handed pitching. He would never start against righties and was usually pulled when a righty reliever came into the game.
That is changing now though. Chaparro does not start against every righty, but he is facing a good amount of them now. This is a very similar process that the Nats used with Curtis Mead. As Mead showed he could hit righties in smaller samples, he got exposed to more of them.
This season, Chaparro has actually been much better against righties. For the year, Chaparro is hitting
.196 with a .768 OPS in 92 AB's against lefties compared to .364 with a 1.144 OPS in 44 at bats against righties.
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With the Nats badly in need of offense, the Nats need Chappy in there every day. His .887 OPS on the season is just too good to keep out of the lineup right now. It has gotten to the point where Blake Butera is even experimenting with Chaparro on the defensive side of the ball.
The other day, Chaparro played third base for the first time this season. Coming through the minors, it is a position that Chaparro played quite a bit. However, when you just look at him, Chappy does not have the typical 3B build. He is a husky slugger without much speed or range. However, he passed every test in his first game at third.
I still do not think that experiment will go well long term, but maybe he can play good enough defense to use him at third every once in a while. It is not like Curtis Mead was great at third base, but the bat was undeniable. Right now, it makes sense to do whatever you can to get Chaparro in the lineup.
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His offensive success from the minor leagues is finally translating to the show. He is absolutely crushing balls to the pull side right now. Chaparro's 30.4% pull air rate is elite and is a driver behind his success. His ability to yank balls to the pull side produces a lot of homers but also a ton of doubles.
It has been really fun to see Chappy this locked in. He seemed like a bit of a lost cause at points this year, but with more reps, he is showing a lot of offensive ability. At this point, he has secured a roster spot for next year and with a strong finish he can make the case for every day reps moving forward.
