Brady House reaches three times in loss to Rangers

The Nats were limited to one run into the sixth inning before House broke through with a three-run homer off Sean Manaea to give the team the lead. The 23-year-old third baseman is up to nine homers and 31 RBI while slashing .242/.295/.408 across 241 plate appearances.

House drove home the Nationals’ lone one when he roped a single to the opposite field in the third inning. In fact, he had two of their five total hits here. After mostly only starting against left-handed pitchers for the last few weeks, this was his second straight start against a righty as he could be getting a solid audition during the last chunk of the season.

While it’s not a clear platoon situation, this is the fourth time that House has found himself on the bench in seven games for the week. He started against both southpaws and only one of four right-handers, with Jorbit Vivas drawing the rest of the starts at the hot corner. That means you shouldn’t be relying on House in weekly leagues unless there are a plethora of left-handers on the docket.

House’s home run was his seventh of the year. He hit a solo shot off Brooks Raley in the seventh inning. It was his first home run since May 16. House had been 9-for-35 (.257) with no home runs and one RBI in his last 11 games entering play Wednesday.

House started at third base and hit fifth in the first game since Curtis Mead was traded to the Red Sox. He opened the season in the majors but was demoted once Mead heated up and took over as the primary third baseman. House, a former top prospect, hit .301/.342/.500 at Triple-A. In a season in which the entire Nationals offense has seemingly taken steps forward, House appears positioned to show he can do the same over the final couple of months.

With Curtis Mead dealt to the Red Sox early Sunday morning, House will get another opportunity to show what he can do at the big league level. The 23-year-old slugger has slashed a paltry .227/.282/.399 with seven homers and 25 RBI in 177 plate appearances with the Nationals this season. He remains an underwhelming option for fantasy purposes.

Obviously, there’s nothing at all guaranteed for the Nationals here, but turning Mead, who was acquired after being DFA’d by the White Sox in March, into a pitcher who was universally regarded as a top-75 prospect at the start of the season and who has posted a 3.24 ERA through 21 major league starts, seems like a major win for the organization. There is the huge caveat that Early is currently on the IL with elbow inflammation. Also, his peripherals aren’t as strong as that 3.24 ERA. Still, he projects as a fine middle-of-the-rotation starter for the long haul, even if his recovery from his current elbow issue doesn’t go as hoped. The Red Sox, for what it’s worth, seemed optimistic that he’d be ready to contribute in September. The Nationals, meanwhile, will replace Mead with Brady House. They’ll still probably trade another infielder, too, with Luis García Jr. most likely to go.

Unless Early is damaged goods — and he obviously currently is on the IL with elbow inflammation — this seems like a pretty weak return for the Red Sox. Mead has broken out nicely with a .256/.351/.505 line this year, but not with the kind of exit velocity numbers that suggest he’s going to be an above average regular going forward, especially given his lack of defensive value. The Red Sox figure to use him a lot at DH for now and then mix him at third and first if Roman Anthony gets healthy and the outfield gets overcrowded again. Masataka Yoshida will lose at-bats in Boston. The Nationals will recall Brady House to replace Mead, according to Spencer Nusbaum.

This is pretty stunning, given that House wasn’t just playing regularly but was also hitting third pretty much of all of the time. He was batting .227/.282/.399 with seven homers and 25 RBI in 177 plate appearances, with just a little more plate discipline than last year. Statcast also thought he was kind of unlucky, giving him a .249 xBA and a .427 xSLG coming into Monday’s game. However, House’s defense at third base has taken a pretty big step backwards, and his 16 percent swinging strike rate is concerning. Unlike with Dylan Crews, who is expected to replace him on the roster, there doesn’t seem to be any financial incentive for the demotion. House is just turning 23 in June, and if he gets a bit more selective at the plate, he’ll probably spend several years as an adequate regular. The Nationals figure to go with José Tena, Jorbit Vivas, and maybe some Curtis Mead at third base. That helps open up time for Crews, who will play a lot of outfield with James Wood and Daylen Lile probably seeing more time at DH.

House started the day on the bench and entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning. He came through with a double to plate a run, then delivered a two-run homer in the eighth. The 22-year-old third baseman has flashed some real power upside, hitting seven homers with 25 RBI while slashing .226/.280/.406 across 168 plate appearances.