No limits for Anthony Rendon's greatness

VIERA, Fla. - Anthony Rendon does not walk around with a superstar-type aura surrounding him. Yet the 24-year-old infielder appears to be just that. He's entering his third season in the majors, coming off a tremendous sophomore campaign where he hit .287 with 21 home runs, 83 RBIs and a league-leading 111 runs scored. The media-shy Rendon didn't escape the accolades of the Silver Slugger as best offensive third baseman, while also finishing fifth in the National League MVP voting.

"My game is simple," Rendon said Tuesday. "I just try to put the barrel on the ball. When I put the barrel on the ball, good things come out most of the time."

That would be a fairly accurate statement for Rendon, who had 176 hits last season, fifth in the NL behind Nationals teammate Denard Span (184).

Oh, yeah, and he played two different positions.

He began the season as the team's starting second baseman, but an early season injury to Ryan Zimmerman sent Rendon over to his natural positon of third base. No big deal for Rendon, who Ian Desmond referred to as "Superman" on Monday, saying he could probably play every position on the field because he's so skilled.

Zimmerman has been the face of the franchise in its 10-year history. The 30-year-old was the first draft pick after the team moved to Washington. However, injuries and throwing issues have forced Zimmerman to move to first base and make way for Rendon, one of the game's emerging stars.

"It's pretty crazy," said Rendon. "I grew up kind of watching him play, I knew his name. He's helped me a lot throughout the way with different things here and there. I don't think I'm replacing anybody. I'm just helping the team, going over there, he'll be doing the same thing. He'll be a great first baseman, I'm excited to watch him play."

Rendon said he learned from Zimmerman - even if the veteran didn't realize he was teaching him.

"He doesn't talk a lot, so he's one of those guys that leads by example," Rendon said. "So just watching him do his work each and every day and come to the ballpark, that's what I learned most from him. Just the way he carries himself."

Durability is key for the Nationals this season in order to meet expectations. Rendon was one of the few who avoided the disabled list in 2014, playing in 153 games in the regular season. Rendon, the sixth overall pick in 2011 out of Rice, attributes a lot of his ability to stay healthy to Houston-based strength coach Ben Fairchild.

"He's not really like, 'Oh we've gotta put on 400 pounds of muscle and throw big weight, you know,' " Rendon said. "We're not worth anything as a player if we're not on the field, if we're on the DL the whole time. So he's just really stressed body movement, try to stay lean, try to stay healthy the whole year."

That would be ideal for Rendon and a Nationals team that plans to play baseball beyond the 162 games in the regular season. Rendon was actually one of the few Nats whose bat was alive during last year's National League Division Series. Playing in his first postseason, Rendon batted .368 (7-for-19) in the four-game loss to the Giants.

It's highly doubtful he'll be able to avoid the superstar tag much longer.