With Soto out, Bell and Schwarber's slumps are magnified

Josh Bell has been late on fastballs since the slugger made his delayed season debut nearly two weeks ago. He's been trying to catch up ever since, and Friday night's game in New York did nothing to help that process along.

Facing Jacob deGrom and his 100 mph fastball all night, Bell had no chance. He saw a total of 11 pitches in three at-bats, nine of which were fastballs, seven of which he swung at. He made contact twice, fouling off one pitch and lofting a lazy fly ball to center field on another. Everything else was a whiff, including three during a first-inning strikeout.

It was about as bad of a matchup as Bell could've created for himself: a big guy with a long swing who's already having trouble catching up with fastballs now trying to catch up with maybe the best fastball in the sport.

So it's perhaps not fair to be overly hard on Bell for Friday night's showing. The trouble is, it was merely the latest in a growing line of underwhelming performances by the Nationals first baseman, who has yet to come close to being the hitter his team needs him to be.

Ten games into his season, Bell is batting a mere .147. He has 12 strikeouts and only three extra-base hits. He's slugging .294. His OPS is .525.

And until he can consistently catch up to a fastball, the problem is going to persist.

"It's all about getting ready early, and seeing the ball earlier," manager Davey Martinez said during his postgame Zoom session with reporters. "He's working diligently, he's taking a lot of swings. Sometimes you see where he's on time, and sometimes he's a little bit behind. For me, it's just a matter of time (before) everything clicks and he starts being on time, like he was when we left spring training."

It feels like ages ago, but Bell was among the hottest hitters on the planet at the end of March. In 18 Grapefruit League games, he hit .383 with five doubles, six homers, 15 RBIs, an .872 slugging percentage and 1.328 OPS that gave everyone reason to be excited about his chances once the regular season began.

But then the Nationals' season opener was delayed and Bell's season debut was delayed even further after he was placed into quarantine. He went two weeks without seeing live pitching, missing the team's first six games of the season. And he's still trying to catch up, literally and figuratively.

"Spring training, that's the best I've seen him swing in a long time," Martinez said. "He'll get there. Hopefully, tomorrow he hits some balls hard, and we get him there. He's working hard. I know he's doing everything he can to help us win. I appreciate that."

With Juan Soto on the injured list with a shoulder strain, the Nationals need Bell right now. Just as they need Kyle Schwarber, who isn't doing much more at the plate. His 463-foot walk-off homer last week aside, the left fielder has been mired in his own slump since making his delayed season debut.

In 11 games, Schwarber is batting .186 with the one homer, only two RBIs, a .326 slugging percentage and .548 OPS that barely outpaces Bell.

"It is what it is," he said. "It's obviously not where I want to be, but the season's a long season. And you've got to stick with the process. I expect better things ahead. I've got to just keep grinding daily and go out there and have good approaches and have quality at-bats and go from there."