Rediscovering his old approach, Werth produces for Nats again

Jayson Werth long ago figured out what kind of hitter he was. He may have the physique of a slugger, but deep down he's a table-setter, a guy who's at his best when he works the count, takes his walks, prolongs at-bats and ultimately does whatever he needs to do to get on base.

At various points along the way, managers and hitting coaches have suggested to Werth that he try a more aggressive approach, that he try to drive the ball more and not let himself get into bad counts.

That, though, has never really worked for Werth. And if you need the perfect example of it, just look at his current season split into two parts.

For six weeks, Nationals manager Dusty Baker had Werth bat fifth or sixth in his lineup. Those are run-producer spots, and so Werth tried to be more aggressive and produce more than he set. The result: a .208 batting average, .265 on-base percentage and questions about how much more productive baseball the 37-year-old outfielder had in him.

Then, with several members of the Nationals lineup struggling, Baker shook things up. He moved Anthony Rendon down and moved Werth up to the two-spot. He has remained there, more or less, ever since. And over his last 69 games, he has now hit .275 with a .381 on-base percentage.

"At the start of the year, I tried to be more aggressive," he said. "And everybody that's anybody always told me: 'You need to be more aggressive. You need to swing at the first pitch. You need to do this. You need to do that.'

"That's just not really been my game. But for whatever reason, I thought this was the year I was going to do that. And I think I've silenced all those people that have told me over the years that that's the way I should hit. Just getting back to being myself, I think that's what it comes down to."

Werth looked very much like himself during today's 7-4 win over the Indians. He reached base three times and came around to score in each case.

And, as has been the case more often than you might imagine given his table-setting approach, he also drove the ball. He doubled in his first at-bat, sending a ball deep to right field and bouncing it over the fence. And he crushed a three-run homer in his second at-bat, providing the Nationals the cushion that ultimately equaled their margin of victory.

Yes, Werth's on-base percentage has skyrocketed since the lineup switch and his conscious decision to start taking more pitches. But his slugging percentage also has gone up, from .408 to .453.

"He's been around long enough to understand how to do almost anything in the order," Baker said. "He's a veteran. He struggled early, glad to see him come to life. Even though he's struggled, he still has 15 home runs. He assured me that he's a second-half, hot-weather player. Boy, we'd sure like to see him get hot."

Werth has been hot for a prolonged stretch now. His first-inning double extended his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 40. That's already tops in the majors this season by four games, and now just three games shy of Ryan Zimmerman's club record (set in 2009).

"It is what it is," he said. "Whether it's a streak or it's not a streak, I feel like myself up there. I'm the same player I've been since I got to the league."

Among Werth's most notable accomplishments this season is the mere fact that he has kept himself healthy and able to be in the lineup almost every day. He has started 99 of the Nationals' 113 games so far, on pace for 142, which would be his most since his first season in Washington back in 2011.

That hasn't gone unnoticed in a clubhouse full of players with far less wear-and-tear on their bodies than Werth.

"He shows the young how to post up," Baker said. "When he goes out there, he's not always 100 percent. Now, in the days of modern baseball, something's wrong with a couple guys, even if it's minor, they have a tendency not to play unless they're 100 percent. Jayson shows you how to go out there and get the job done. He's old-school, big time. It's good to have a guy like that to show these guys the way of how to play and how to be a professional."

Said left-hander Gio Gonzalez: "I don't know why it's still a shock to anyone. Jayson's the real deal. He's the truth. He's been like that since his Philly days, and nothing's changed. He's still a leader. He's still one of the guys that I wouldn't trade for the world."

Gonzalez has nothing to worry about there. Werth isn't going anywhere. Even at 37, in his sixth season in D.C., he's just as valuable to the Nationals as ever.