More comfortable Abrams starting to put things together

ST. LOUIS – His first at-bat produced in the first triple of his career. His second produced one of the hardest exit velocities of his career. His third produced an infield single in which he could show off his elite speed. His fourth produced the first three-hit game of his career.

And when he singled again in his fifth and final at-bat Monday at Busch Stadium, CJ Abrams had himself the first four-hit game of his career, capping off a fantastic afternoon at the plate by the Nationals’ rookie shortstop.

“Every time I’m at the plate, I’m getting more and more comfortable,” he said.

There’s no disputing that. After a sluggish start to his time in D.C., Abrams is beginning to look like the highly skilled hitter and defender the Nats believed they were getting from the Padres all along in last month’s Juan Soto trade.

With only six hits in his first 44 at-bats, Abrams at times looked overwhelmed by big league pitching. Through it all, manager Davey Martinez insisted it was only a matter of time before the 21-year-old started to apply what he was being coached and saw the results to match.

Sure enough, Abrams now looks like a completely different hitter. He has nine hits in his last 24 at-bats, raising his batting average with the Nationals from .136 to .224. He’s still got a long way to go, but even his outs right now feature quality swings.

Take Abrams’ lone out from Monday’s 6-0 win over the Cardinals. He scorched a line drive to right field 107 mph off the bat, only to watch it sail right into Lars Nootbaar’s glove.

That represented his hardest-hit ball of the day. His most productive hit came on a sinking line drive to center, the ball scooting past a diving Tyler O’Neill and to the warning track. As he raced around first, Abrams thought the same thing everyone in the ballpark probably was thinking.

“Maybe I could have got four if I wasn’t fixing my helmet the whole time,” he laughed.

Perhaps slowed down ever so bit by his bobbing helmet, which he finally flipped off before rounding second, Abrams had to settle for his first major league triple instead of an inside-the-park homer. Nevertheless, the moment showed off his elite speed in a way that hasn’t been possible as much as he’d like to date.

Abrams would score moments later on Lane Thomas’ double down the right field line. He would also score in the sixth inning after using that elite speed to leg out a single on a little dribbler down the third base line.

All of this was merely further example of the progress the young hitter has made at the plate in recent weeks.

“He’s letting the ball get deeper, because he’s allowing himself to get on top of the baseball so he can wait a little longer,” Martinez said. “He loves the fact that we’re trying to teach him the right way. He embraces it. I love talking to him. I love having him around.”

Abrams’ offensive improvements have come as he’s also looked more and more comfortable in the field. Charged with four errors in his first 10 games at shortstop, he’s now played eight consecutive clean games, including Saturday night’s game against the Mets in which he handled eight defensive chances with no problem.

Because the nature of his arrival was so high-profile, Abrams understandably was under a bright spotlight when he debuted for the Nationals on Aug. 15. Now that it has perhaps begun to dim a bit, he’s finding his groove and playing the kind of baseball that was expected from him all along.

“We got him here, and I didn’t put any expectations on him whatsoever,” Martinez said. “We talked about that: ‘You’re going to come here, you’re going to play, you’re going to be our shortstop. We’re going to take baby steps with you. I just want you to go out there and have fun.’ …

“He’s been really good with everything.”