Can Turner duplicate electric second half over full 2017 season?

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Trea Turner, who didn't arrive in the big leagues until July, but wound up one of the most valuable players on the team.

PLAYER REVIEW: TREA TURNER

Age on opening day 2017: 23

How acquired: Acquired from Padres with Joe Ross, with Nats trading Steven Souza and Travis Ott to Rays in three-team deal, December 2014

MLB service time: 135 days

2016 salary: $507,500

Contract status: Under team control through 2018, likely arbitration-eligible in 2019, free agent in 2023

2016 stats: 73 G, 324 PA, 307 AB, 53 R, 105 H, 14 2B, 8 3B, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 33 SB, 6 CS, 14 BB, 59 SO, .342 AVG, .370 OBP, .567 SLG, .937 OPS, 3.5 WAR

Quotable: "Usually, fast people in major league baseball are just really fast. I don't want to say they're not good baseball players, because obviously they wouldn't be here if they weren't. But speed is their No. 1 thing. Trea is just a really good baseball player who is also maybe the fastest guy in the league. The baseball IQ that he has, combined with that speed, it's obviously pretty special." - Ryan Zimmerman on Trea Turner

2016 analysis: Many expected Trea Turner to have an impact on the Nationals this season, but few knew how significant that impact would be, or when the opportunity would arrive. Turns out it didn't happen until July, at which point Turner was hitting .302 with an .842 OPS and 25 stolen bases for Triple-A Syracuse, and the Nats desperately needed offensive production from their center fielders.

Turner, of course, had never played center field. A natural infielder, he was being groomed to take over for Danny Espinosa at shortstop at some point. But when Espinosa broke out with huge numbers in June, the Nationals decided to give Turner a tryout in the outfield. And with Ben Revere and Michael A. Taylor struggling at the big league level, the move was made for good.

Over the next three months, Turner proved to be everything the Nationals could have hoped, and then some. He hit for an incredibly high average. He stole bases with a high rate of success. He hit for more power than anyone realized he had. And he proved adept at his new position, making a couple of costly mistakes along the way but mostly impressing with his ability to learn on the fly.

By season's end, Turner was as valuable to the Nationals as anyone on the roster. He was far and away the National League's best rookie in the second half, not to mention one of the NL's best players, period. Had he simply been in the big leagues for more than 73 games, he might well have been near the top of many postseason awards lists.

2017 outlook: There won't be any debate over Turner's status on the opening day roster in 2017. There will, however, be some debate over the position he plays.

The Nationals need to decide whether they want him to return to his natural place in the infield, perhaps bumping Espinosa from the starting shortstop's job at last, or whether they should just stick with Turner in center field given how well he handled the transition and the fact they still have a need there.

Wherever he plays, the Nats will want Turner to become a more consistent defensive player, whether running routes in the outfield or making strong throws at shortstop. They'll also want him to start showing a bit more patience at the plate. His high batting average tends to mask the fact he is an awfully free swinger who rarely draws walks. If he's going to be an elite leadoff man for the long term, he's going to have to make some improvements in that area.

But that's mostly nitpicking. Turner, more than anything, simply needs to maintain the drive that he showed all season, the desire to get better at everything he does, the insistence on not giving away any at-bats. The league will make some adjustments to him, and he'll need to adjust back. But the future is incredibly bright for this burgeoning star.