5 years agoAfter a wildly successful season for Howie Kendrick and his Washington Nationals, it is back to work. However, his fantasy value in 2020 will come down almost exclusively to how many at-bats he garners. Kendrick has seen fewer than 350 at-bats each of the past three seasons. His flexibility adds to his value. Last season, Kendrick played 48 games at first, 23 games at second, and 15 games at third. But that flexibility opens the door for multiple timeshares with teammates. It feels like 1B will be covered mostly by a timeshare between Eric Thames and Ryan Zimmerman. New additions Starlin Castro and Asdrubal Cabrera are slotted in to play second base and third base respectively. Kendrick doesn't have a spot, but he is arguably the best all-around hitter of this entire group when he's healthy. Last year, he had a .930 OPS in 217 ABs versus right-handed pitchers and a 1.036 OPS in 117 ABs versus lefties. For his career, he has a slightly below-average split vs. righties (97 tOPS+) and a slightly above-average split against lefties (106 tOPS+). Until other injuries arise, Kendrick is likely relegated to subbing on the left side of the infield. He is being drafted outside of the top 300, which speaks to this point. Subbing probably keeps him under 350 at-bats for another season, though he will be productive with the chances he does garner. It will be up to manager Dave Martinez and company to balance keeping Kendrick fresh with finding days to get his potentially elite hitting into the lineup; a balancing act indeed. Fantasy owners can stay away until the situation clears itself up.--Todd Salem