Fantasy Baseball: Don’t you forget about Nationals Adam Eaton
By Gavin Tramps
After losing most of 2017 to injury, how does Washington Nationals’ Adam Eaton fit into the 2018 fantasy baseball landscape?
It is possible to imagine Nationals’ outfielder Adam Eaton mimicking Simple Minds’ frontman Jim Kerr singing “Will you recognize me? Call my name or walk on by ……. Don’t you forget about me”.
The Nationals paid a high price to acquire the services of Eaton from the White Sox in December 2016. It looked to be money well spent when the 28-year-old started on-pace for a career year in 2017 (0.854 OPS and 24 runs in 23 games) until injury cut his season short when he tore an ACL at the end of April.
Despite never recording a season of either 20 stolen bases or 15 home runs, Eaton offers reliable run-scoring production with excellent on-base skills and was deservedly drafted with an ADP of 118.
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Very little has changed between the preseason outlooks of 2017 and 2018. Eaton and Trea Turner will occupy the first two spots in the batting order, giving the Nationals on-base and speed ahead of the powerful quartet of Bryce Harper, Danny Murphy, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman. The runs potential for Eaton is significant.
Eaton has four years left on a team-friendly deal, so expect the 28-year-old to be a fixture on the Nationals’ lineup card for many years to come, although he is now is expected to be their primary left fielder, yielding center to Michael Taylor.
For the two seasons of 2015 and 2016, Eaton racked up plate appearances, averaging just below 700 per season, which helps in all formats.
In a preseason article, he was compared to Lorenzo Cain. In 2016, both players hit nine home runs with 14 stolen bases, and a batting average between .285-.290, but Eaton’s big advantage was to score 35 more runs.
He won’t just help you in the runs category. OBP and points leagues will also benefit from Eaton’s superb on-base skills. Expect him to get the green light to swipe bags along with Turner, who is rapidly becoming one of the best base-stealers in the game.
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If Eaton proves his fitness in Spring Training, there is no reason to believe he will not produce a career year with 100+ runs, 20 stolen bases and double-digit home runs. Just don’t forget about him on draft day.