Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber gave back many of his 2019 gains last year, seeing a rise in strikeout rate (29.5%) and his batting average dropping to an abysmal .188. But Schwarber's season was far from linear: over the first half of the season, he slashed .230/.343/.448, but those numbers dropped to .154/.279/.346 over the second half. At the same time, he continued to hit the ball extremely hard, with a 92.8 MPH average exit velocity, which was top 5% in the league. Given his consistently hard contact, the better course of action seems to forgive Schwarber for what amounted to an extremely poor 24-game stretch to close out the season. Now batting in the middle of the Nationals lineup with a fresh start and entering his age-28 season, Schwarber should rebound to somewhere between his 2018 and 2019 numbers.

Kyle Schwarber agrees to one-year deal with Nationals

Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reports that free-agent outfielder Kyle Schwarber has agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals.

Fantasy Impact

Assuming there is no DH in the National League this season, Schwarber would likely slot in as the everyday left fielder with Victor Robles in center field and Juan Soto shifting over to right field. After trading for first baseman Josh Bell two weeks ago, the Nationals have added another powerful bat to the middle of their order to bolster their lineup. After hitting 38 HR with 92 RBI and a .250/.339/.531 slash line in 2019, Schwarber struggled mightily during the abbreviated 2020 season, slashing just .188/.308/.393 with 11 HR and 24 RBI in 59 games. The 27-year-old makes for an intriguing bounce-back candidate in 2021.