Nationals’ Trey Lipscomb Is Rediscovering Power Stroke

After third baseman Trey Lipscomb homered in his first professional at-bat last summer, power didn’t come quite so easily the rest of the season.

The 2022 third-round pick out of Tennessee performed well at Low-A Fredericksburg, hitting .299/.327/.392 in 23 games but with only one home run. He hit 22 for Tennessee in 2022 to become the first Volunteers player since 2009 to hit at least 20.

This spring, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Lipscomb is making slight adjustments. The changes are in his weight-lifting, his posture at the plate and his movement preparation.

“My swing is about 95% the same,” Lipscomb said. “The Nationals do a great job giving us data. We have an app where we can watch all our at-bats. I’m just trying to be very open with the coaches and coordinators and prepare as much as I can.”

Nationals officials have been impressed with Lipscomb’s work ethic at minor league camp. His at-bats in major league camp—he went 4-for-7 with a double and a home run—were a byproduct of his dedication on the back fields.

“His offensive approach is very consistent,” Nationals farm director De Jon Watson said. “And the same thing is true on the defensive side of the baseball. He’s also a very astute baserunner who gets great reads, especially going first to third.”

Defensively, the 22-year-old Lipscomb has been working with infield coordinator Cody Ransom.

“One of my main things is that I want to be able to dominate the average play,” Lipscomb said. “It’s been great working one-on-one or two-on-two in camp. That’s helped me a lot.”

Lipscomb was at Tennessee for four years, but he was only a regular in his final season. He led the team in home runs, hits and RBIs after sitting behind Andre Lipcius and Jake Rucker. 

“It was tough waiting around,” Lipscomb said. “But I gained so much knowledge from them and my other teammates.”

The Nationals’ players have a similarly tight group. Watson credits some of that to Lipscomb’s leadership.

 “All these young guys build each other up,” Watson said. “They’re like a little Brat Pack.”

CAPITAL GAINS

—The Nationals named Jeff Zona as their Phil Rizzo Scout of the Year and Ricardo Vasquez as their International Scout of the Year. Zona, a special assistant to the general manager and director of pitching evaluation, is entering his 17th season with the organization. Vasquez is a crosschecker in Latin America. He oversees the day-to-day scouting operations in the Dominican Republic. Vasquez began with the Nationals as a video intern in 2016 and was involved in the signings of outfielder Cristhian Vaquero and shortstop Armando Cruz.

— Brenner Cox, a fourth-round pick last year out of Rock Hill High in Frisco, Texas, is another player who has impressed Watson this spring.

“He’s very confident with his offensive approach,” Watson said. “He goes gap-to-gap with sneaky power, and the ball’s carrying well for him. He’s playing all three outfield spots and even played center field in a big league game and held his own. He’s running well, getting down the line in 4.2 (seconds), 4.15 on one opportunity to beat out an infield hit.”