Stevenson picking up where he left off in September

Savvy baseball observers know not to put too much stock into stats from September or spring training. Despite their seemingly glittery appearance, they can be nothing more than fool's gold, and players who have raked in September or spring often find themselves quickly struggling once pitchers adapt to them.

But Andrew Stevenson made last September his personal coming-out party, picking up hits in all 12 of his games and slashing .417/.488/.833 over 41 plate appearances. That output set him up to seize the fourth outfielder's spot in spring camp, and he hasn't let up yet.

With a 2-for-3 day in a rain-shortened, six-inning, 5-3 win over the Marlins on Saturday, Stevenson is now slashing .286/.333/.619 in 14 spring at-bats. It's a small sample size, yes, but suggests that the 26-year-old is finding his comfort zone at the plate by picking up where he left off at the end of the truncated 2020 campaign.

On Saturday, Stevenson singled in Ryan Zimmerman to cap the Nationals' two-run first inning against Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara. After grounding out in the third, he laid down a bunt single against lefty Daniel Castano in the fifth.

"I think last year built some confidence," manager Davey Martinez said when asked during his postgame Zoom call about Stevenson's production so far. "Coming into this year, he looks relaxed playing the game. He's playing the game right. He laid down a nice bunt against a lefty there, which I like and I encourage for him to do. But he's swinging the bat well. We know what he can do against right-handed pitchers and he takes good at-bats every time he's up there."

Like many young players, Stevenson has found it difficult to recreate his minor league success as a major leaguer. In five seasons on the farm, he played regularly and put up decent numbers: a .281/.338/.382 slash line with 19 homers, 174 RBIs, 148 walks and 98 stolen bases over 457 games. He's been up and down over parts of four major league seasons, putting together a .266/.348/.389 slash line with three homers, 26 RBIs, 24 walks and four steals in 139 games.

Martinez has always predicted that Stevenson's bat would eventually catch up to his glove. Last year's September surge seems to suggest that the long-awaited process has begun for the 2015 second-round draft pick out of LSU.

Trouble is, Stevenson seems locked into a reserve role, meaning he's got to produce off the bench because, barring an injury, he's not going to get significant regular playing time.

With Victor Robles locked into center field, Juan Soto moving from left to right and free agent signee Kyle Schwarber taking over in left, it'll be hard for Stevenson to find playing time. As the fourth outfielder, he'll likely be a defensive replacement late in games for Schwarber or a pinch-hitter, a role in which he's excelled. Over his career, Stevenson has hit .274/.354/.452 as a pinch-hitter.

So as he produces when called upon this spring, Stevenson does so knowing that his playing time will be limited once the regular season begins.

If that bothers him, he's not showing it. This camp has a different feel; for the first time in his career, Stevenson's not fighting an uphill battle for a job.

"He gets it, he understands what he's vying for and he does well," Martinez said. "I mean, we know the value that he brings."

And if something unforeseen happens, Martinez likes that Stevenson is staying ready for whatever opportunities present themselves.

"Like I said to all these guys: Unfortunately, we can only take 26 guys to start the season, but that doesn't mean much," Martinez said. "Who knows, in two weeks' time, something can change. In a month's time, something else can change. He's here because we value what he can do and we know he can help us win games."