Andres Chaparro didn’t just finish the season well for the Washington Nationals. He changed the conversation around himself.
For most of the first half, Chaparro looked like a player who might not stick. The 27-year-old was working in a part-time role, and the production wasn’t there, either. His first-half line sat at a .586 OPS, which fit the old concern that he was the kind of hitter who could mash in Triple-A but never quite carry it over against big league pitching.
Then one swing flipped everything.
In Sacramento, the Nationals were on the road when Chaparro absolutely unloaded on a Jose Suarez fastball and sent it 467 feet. He drove it over everything, and that blast seemed to unlock something.
Over that first trip after the All-Star break, Chaparro hit three homers and played with a different kind of confidence. He wasn’t just trying to prove he belonged anymore.
He looked like a hitter who knew he could do damage.
The numbers that followed were loud. Chaparro hit .299 with a .998 OPS in the second half, and he added 12 home runs, including two on the final day of the season. It was a dramatic turnaround, and one of the most striking changes any Nationals hitter made all year.
His home runs also come with a little extra theater. Chaparro’s swing has a steeper path, and when he gets one, the ball tends to hang in the air longer than most.
His first homer on the final day was a perfect example. Time seemed to stall while everyone waited for the ball to finally land in the seats.
By the end of it all, Chaparro had turned a strong finish into a very strong season line: .263 with a .360 OBP, an .885 OPS and 13 homers in 83 games. He did it in just 198 at-bats, but his impact was impossible to miss. His 141 wRC+ was an elite mark.
What makes the case for Chaparro even more interesting is that the splits weren’t nearly as lopsided as his reputation suggested. He’d long been viewed as a lefty masher, but he posted an .888 OPS against lefties and an .880 mark against righties.
That matters for what comes next. The Nationals have already shown a willingness to turn platoon players into everyday options if they earn it, and Curtis Mead was one example of that.
Chaparro could be next. He saw more right-handed pitching late in the year, and there’s reason to hope that continues.
The team even wrote about how he could be more than a platoon bat during his big run.
For now, his main competition for at-bats against right-handed pitching is Abimelec Ortiz, who struggled badly down the stretch. Ortiz bats left-handed, but Chaparro still looks like the better option against righties at this moment. That could look different by the time the 2027 season rolls around, but right now Chaparro is the more proven hitter.
The problem, of course, is the glove. Chaparro’s defense remains the biggest issue, and the ideal setup would be to use him mostly as a DH with some first-base duty mixed in. He spent most of this season at first base, where he didn’t look especially sharp, and he also got a few games at third, where he does not look playable.
Still, when a bat produces like this, you find a way to use it. Chaparro punishes fastballs, drives the ball in the air with authority and draws his walks.
He’s not a contact hitter, and he doesn’t need to be one to matter. A 23.2% strikeout rate is manageable when the power and damage are this real.
After the way he closed the year, Andres Chaparro put himself in a strong position going into next season. It took him a while to get there, but like a number of Nationals hitters, he took a big step forward.
In Other News...
Nationals Park Hosted A Wild Baseball Show Washington Fans Felt Personally
Nationals Park turned into something closer to a summer carnival than a standard ballpark night as the inaugural Banana Bowl brought a different kind of baseball spectacle to Washington. The championship game mixed live baseball with theatrical flair, celebrity cameos and nonstop entertainment, giving fans the sort of offbeat show that can feel especially personal in a city still fond of its Nationals alumni and the ballpark they once called home.
The Texas Tailgaters and Savannah Bananas wound up giving the crowd a tense finish before the night settled into a winner, and the connections to Washington only made the atmosphere louder. Former Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann showed up with Texas, while Ryan Zimmerman was part of the Bananas side, turning a novelty event into something with a local edge that had Nationals fans leaning in all the way to the end. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Young Core Just Sent Fans A Clear Rebuild Message
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Cade Cavallis recognition as Pitcher of the Year added to that theme, because it reflected how much the Nationals are investing in their homegrown core after years of turnover. There is a reason these awards matter even in late September: they signal who the team believes will carry it forward, and Washingtons latest vote of confidence leaves little doubt that the next step in the rebuild will revolve around players who are already here, even as the full picture of that future is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Abrams Still Has A Real Shot To Keep Shortstop
CJ Abrams entered last season with his defensive future under a microscope, and the Nationals spent time weighing whether a move from shortstop to second base might best fit his long-term outlook. An injury cut into the reps he would have needed to get comfortable on the right side of the infield, but the club still saw enough progress to keep the conversation alive as the offseason moved along.
Manager Blake Butera said Abrams has improved at both spots and will get a real chance to compete for the shortstop job in spring training, which keeps the door open on a position the Nationals had once seemed ready to revisit. Even if most of Abrams playing time is expected to come at second base, the front office has not shut the book on him handling shortstop in 2027, leaving this winter as an important stretch in defining where he fits best. [Read more 🡒]