Why Kyle Schwarber might continue his Babe Ruth impression through the summer

Having Trea Turner and Juan Soto in the No. 2 and No. 3 spot helps Schwarber get a steady diet of fastballs, too, since if pitchers get too cute and miss the strike zone, they face greater danger with a runner on base. All three hitters have a walk rate above 10 percent, too, making this trio very difficult to keep off the base paths. Moreover, Turner is batting .339 with a .968 OPS from the second spot since Schwarber assumed leadoff duties, while Soto is batting .291 with a .753 OPS. Since Schwarber was penciled in as the No. 1 spot of the batting order on June 13, no team in the majors has gotten more production from its first three hitters than Washington. Schwarber, Turner and Soto combine for a 1.243 OPS and .503 weighted on-base average, both light-years ahead of the league averages for the same (.797 and .342, respectively).