Where the center field battle between Robles and Taylor stands

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - As spring training competitions go, the center field battle between veteran Michael A. Taylor and top prospect Victor Robles in Nationals camp is a doozy. And with a little more than two weeks left in camp, there's no clear-cut leader.

If all things were equal, the Nationals would seem to prefer that Robles, 21, seize the opportunity. If not for a gruesome elbow injury sustained making a diving play for Triple-A Syracuse in April, he might have been the one who got the call to the major leagues that went to Juan Soto in May. But that's another story.

That's the path top prospects are supposed to proceed upon. Force their way into the lineup. Make it hard for teams to ignore them.

There's only one problem: Taylor, who for the purposes of this argument is the incumbent trying to stave off the challenge of the promising rookie. And, as is often the case in spring training, Taylor is doing a fantastic job of making the Nationals' choice difficult.

So far this spring, Taylor is slashing .571/.600/1.000 with a homer and three RBIs. He's tweaked his swing, filled a couple of holes, cut down on his strikeouts and is looking like the multi-dimensional threat the Nationals always envisioned he could be.

Trouble is, we've seen this before. Taylor is one of the all-time great Grapefruit League mashers. He hit .323/.343/.646 with four homers and seven RBIs in 2015, .453/.491/.849 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 2016, and .315/.327/.500 with two homers and seven RBIs in 2017.

Last spring, the Nationals handed the center field job to Taylor after his coming-out party in the 2017 National League Division Series against the Cubs, and he struggled to keep his average above .200 as the calendar turned to June. His stellar defense kept him in the lineup, but eventually the Nats had to move Bryce Harper to center field in an effort to keep both Adam Eaton and Soto in the lineup in an attempt to generate offense.

Taylor wound up slashing just .227/.287/.357 with six homers and 28 RBIs, easily the worst numbers of any of his full major league campaigns. Yes, he stole a career-best 24 bases, but he was lost offensively for much of the season, and even took the drastic step of playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic, though his time there was interrupted by hip and oblique injuries.

At 27, Taylor should be hitting his peak offensive years, not trying to keep his roster spot. And Robles seems bent on making the decision a difficult one for general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez.

Both manager and GM like defense to be the center fielder's calling card, and Robles and Taylor are displaying strong glove work. Both possess the kind of speed that allows them to cover the gaps and get to more balls. Taylor seems to glide more easily over and back, and few go back on balls better; Robles can turn on the jets if he makes a bad read and still make a head-turning play. He's still learning positioning and opposing hitters, what you expect of someone so inexperienced.

Robles started off strong offensively last spring and tailed off with increased playing time, finishing with a .188/.216/.313 slash line with a home run and six RBIs. This spring, he's hitting .333/.435/.556 with a homer and five RBIs. He's stolen three bases, worked on his bunting as a way to get on base and energized the club with his enthusiastic style of play.

So what will the Nationals do? Who plays center field?

The Nats value Taylor, especially since they drafted and developed him, and because they possess little outfield depth in the high minors. But he's not really a fourth outfielder, even if he's previously filled that role. Perhaps a strong spring could make him a trade candidate to fill another organizational hole, but Taylor isn't going to bring a lot in return. It's possible that Taylor and Robles both make the 25-man roster out of camp and share center field until one of them plays the other onto the bench.

Robles has been on the cusp of the majors for a while now, and seems to be running out of things to prove at Triple-A, where he slashed .278/.356/.386 in 40 games last year. Five seasons in the minors have yielded an .849 OPS and 129 stolen bases. Those are the kind of numbers that get you noticed for all the right reasons. His speed/power blend is the kind that makes scouts salivate.

Clearly, Robles is the future, in both the immediate and long-term senses. Fans have been hearing about Robles and Soto for so long that they're ready to see them side by side in the outfield. The Nationals turned a page when they moved on from Bryce Harper and constructed their 2019 roster in such a way to put Robles and Taylor in a marquee spring battle.

There's still time for either to seize the job, but all things being equal, it feels to me like it's Robles' job to lose. With him, the Nationals are a more exciting and dynamic team. But at least for another couple of weeks, the Nats seem to want to see if Taylor can push the youngster and whether Robles can carry his impressive start through an entire camp and into the regular season.