Nats replace Luis García Jr. with Abimelec Ortiz

Terribly unfortunate to miss a start against RHP Gabriel Hughes, who is 0-5 with a 6.54 ERA. Andrés Chaparro will draw the assignment instead. It’s the first day off for Ortiz in the last six.

Continuing to impress in a part-time role, Chaparro was the extent of the Nationals’ offense in a game where they were thrashed 13-1. He accounted for three of their seven total hits, two of their four extra-base hits, and drove home their lone run with a solo home run. They’ve been sneaking him into the lineup more so against right-handed pitchers lately because they’ve only faced one lefty in their last 13 games and Chaparro’s role had been to be a lefty-masher. It’s tough to ignore a .906 OPS though.

The official Nationals Communications Department tweeted out six days ago about Chaparro being first in the majors in slugging and OPS since the All-Star break. Alas, actual Nationals management couldn’t care less. They’re probably right about Chaparro not being a long-term regular, but he is hitting .343/.410/.686 in his very limited action against righties this season, and it’s interesting that the team just doesn’t really want to give him a chance. Of course, it’s not helping right now that CJ Abrams is again DHing due to his ankle injury; Chaparro might have gotten the nod there tonight if Abrams was at short or second.

In a rare start against a right-handed pitcher, Chaparro showed why he may deserve to play more often. He had three batted balls of at least 104 mph and was a thorn in the side of the Rangers’ pitchers all night. His three-run home run broke this game open in the seventh inning and he could be an intriguing deep league option should he get a bit more playing time.

Ortiz poked an opposite-field solo blast off Christian Scott to account for the Nationals’ only extra-base hit on the afternoon. The lefty-hitting first baseman came over from the Rangers in last winter’s MacKenzie Gore trade, and he’s essentially filled Luis García Jr.'s role since the trade deadline. Ortiz has started at first and hit second in every game against a right-hander since being called up. He has impressive batted-ball metrics through 14 games with Washington, and the only blemish in his profile is a poor walk rate. That doesn’t align with what he showed in the minors. There could be further upside if his patience improves and the remaining Statcast metrics hold.

Ortiz smacked a one-out single off of Kevin Gausman in the fourth inning and scored the game’s first run on an RBI double by Dylan Crews. He then broke the game open as he ambushed a first-pitch fastball from Gausman for a 414-foot (105.2-mph EV) three-run shot in the fifth inning. The 24-year-old is taking advantage of his opportunity here, slashing .333/.355/.767 with four homers and eight RBI in his first 31 plate appearances with the Nationals. He could be worth a look in deeper mixed leagues until he shows any signs of cooling down.

Ortiz began the game on the bench with southpaw David Peterson on the mound for the Cubs. In the sixth inning, he pinch hit for Andres Chaparro and hit a home run off right-hander Javier Assad. Ortiz’ home run was his third in his first 26 at-bats in the major leagues. While his playing time will continue to be limited to the strong side of the first base platoon, his power appears legitimate enough to be worth a twirl in mixed leagues.

Ortiz takes a seat with lefty Shota Imanaga toeing the rubber for Chicago in this one. He’ll continue to sit in favor of Andrés Chaparro against most left-handers over the final few weeks of the season. The 24-year-old rookie has gone deep twice in seven games since returning to the majors last week. He’s at least worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues based on his power upside.

The 24-year-old slugger tagged Reds’ starter Brady Singer for a 378-foot (102.4-mph EV) solo shot in the third inning that extended the Nationals’ edge to 3-1. He finished the day 2-for-3 and is now hitting .273/.304/.591 with a pair of homers and four RBI in his first 23 MLB plate appearances.

Chaparro entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning and struck out. He redeemed himself in the eighth though, smacking a two-run double that capped off the scoring in the ballgame. For the season, the 27-year-old is now slashing .235/.348/.500 with six long balls and 28 RBI in 115 plate appearances with the Nationals this season.