Curtis

Mead

Mead returns to the second spot in Washington’s lineup to face Arizona lefty Eduardo Rodriguez after spending Friday’s contest on the bench. The 25-year-old has taken over as the club’s starting third baseman back in mid-May and hasn’t looked back, hitting .278 (15-for-54) with four homers and 11 RBI over 15 games during that span. He’s worthy of a speculative roster spot in leagues where he’s still on the waiver wire given his recent production, everyday role and former prospect status.

Mead has settled in as the Nationals’ regular third baseman and has been hitting third in the lineup over the past few weeks. He’ll get a breather in this one though with Jorbit Vivas starting in his place at the hot corner and batting sixth against Merrill Kelly and the Diamondbacks on Friday evening in Arizona.

Mead drilled a run-scoring single to left field with two outs in the third inning against Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara as part of another multi-hit effort. The 25-year-old former top prospect has shown some really promising signs at the dish since taking over as Washington’s starting third baseman last month, hitting .294 (15-for-51) with four homers and 11 RBI over his last 15 games. He’s at least worthy of a speculative roster spot in deeper mixed leagues based on his pedigree, recent production and newfound everyday role with the Nationals.

Mead was out of the starting lineup for the first time in six games and probably the last time for at least a week or two. He worked the walk after hitting for Nasim Nuñez in the seventh, giving the Nationals a 4-3 lead, and then mostly clinched the game by making it 9-4 in the eighth. Mead is 9-for-26 with four homers, nine RBI and four walks in his last seven appearances.

Mead takes a seat following five consecutive starts at the hot corner for Washington. He’s started eight of their last 10 games at the position. The 25-year-old former top prospect has shown some really encouraging signs at the plate recently, homering four times in his last six games. There’s some definite intrigue in deeper mixed leagues. It’ll be Jorbit Vivas getting a chance at the hot corner to face Padres righty Michael King on Saturday afternoon.

Lucas Giolito left a center-cut fastball at the top of the zone and Mead pulverized it to left center, landing it about three rows back. He added a walk in the ninth to put the tying run at the plate, but the Nationals batters couldn’t find the big hit against Mason Miller. Don’t look now, but Mead is hitting .286/.417/.571 with four homers over his last seven games. He’s developed into an interesting NL-only league or deep league option since the Nationals sent Brady House down a few weeks ago and started giving Mead everyday playing time.

Mead recorded the first multi-homer performance of his career, as he took Guardians starter Tanner Bibee deep to left field in the opening frame before taking reliever Matt Festa deep in the fifth. The 25-year-old former top prospect has ostensibly taken over as Washington’s primary third baseman since Brady House was demoted to Triple-A last week. He’s hitting .283 (13-for-46) with three homers, eight RBI and one steal over his last 15 games. It’s too small of a sample to draw any firm conclusions, but Mead is talented enough to make an impact in deeper fantasy leagues if he’s finally starting to put it together in the majors.

Mead has plenty of history at third base, but he’s definitely below average at the position and it wasn’t entirely clear whether the Nationals would be willing to use him there after demoting Brady House. It’s the 12th start this year for Mead; he’d started at first base 11 times and second base once. If Mead can hold his own at third base, then it would make sense for the Nationals to play him there against lefties, allowing Andrés Chapparo to play first base as Luis García Jr.'s platoon partner.

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.

Garcia takes a seat against Reds lefty Nick Lodolo following an impressive three-hit performance, which included a pair of home runs, during Tuesday’s series opener. The 25-year-old first baseman has recorded three consecutive multi-hit performances to raise his batting average from .231 to .270 through 37 games. It’ll be Curtis Mead getting an opportunity at the cold corner and hitting second in his place.