It is truly a pleasure watching 20 - year Victor Robles mold his five tool talent together at Fast A - Potomac Nationals this season.Getting his feet wet the past three seasons in DSL and GCL rookie ball and Low A SALLY Hagerstown, he is stealing bases, hitting singles, doubles, triples and homers, throwing out runners testing his arm, and catching rocket shots up the alleys nowadays at Potomac.
In a typical game against Salem a couple weeks ago, he led off with a double, stretched it to a triple when the Salem right fielder bobbled the ball, and scored on an infield out.In his second time at bat, he showed a bunt first pitch, protecting the runner stealing second. While he ended up flying to left field, he did his job advancing the runners.In his third AB, he reached out and slapped a single to left field, and scored on a teammate' double to right.
For nine innings, he hustled out in centerfield, backing up the plays, racing after well hit balls, throwing to the right bases to stop advancing runners and generally taking charge as a good CFer should.Although missing two weeks of game play at the end of April due to a hamstring injury, in 37 games this season, 136 AB, he is hitting 296 BA, 7 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, and drove in 17 RBI from a mostly leadoff position in the batting order.His OBP 391 is ideal for a leadoff hitter - he gets on base 39.1 % of ABs, and 526 SLG shows he can hit for power, lots of doubles, triples, and HR.
And Victor just turned twenty May 19th and already is successfully hitting against older savvy Carolina League pitchers, who know well how to pitch an anxious rookie.But mature beyond his years, Victor is laying back and getting his licks. He is blending bunting, hitting away, waiting out pitches and varying his hitting strategies to confuse those opposing older players.He is marrying good hitting with the defensive facets of his game to show all of the signs of becoming a star.And when he puts it all together, he has the potential to be what the Washington Nationals have always dreamt about - a superstar in centerfield leading off in the batting order at Nationals Stadium.
