Jayson Werth’s Beard speaks candidly about his “owner”

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

It all started with an invitation to write about Jayson Werth, and writer’s block set in. That led to a Q&A format with the Ghost. It worked well and hope you enjoy it.

Editor’s Note: The JWerth’s Beard Twitter account is one of the most popular Twitter accounts, and has over 20,000 followers.

Ghost: With 2017 being Jayson Werth’s last contractual season, do you think the Nats extend his deal?

JWerth’s Beard: I’m wrong a lot when it comes to stuff like this, so I’ll say no so that the opposite happens. 😉  He’s meant a lot to this organization, so I certainly hope they do.

Ghost: That would be my hope that the Nats create a bench role for him at the very least next year. His ex-teammates like Mike Morse and Jimmy Rollins both just accepted Minor League deals and Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are still unsigned.

I think Jayson’s production in the 2017 season plus salary demands for 2018 will determine much.

Jayson is such a hard worker and so smart that he knows he is playing for a 2018 deal also. That is quite the motivation.

It seems the projections from the various services that predict 2017 stats have adjusted Jayson upward on BA (.257) and OBP (.343) and down slightly on SLG. That is understandable, but he seems to keep producing and Steamer shows him at 122 games which I think is based on more rest. WAR decreases mostly because he will be playing less.

I know he hated how 2016 ended for his team and himself personally, but that’s baseball and the failures inherent in the game.

I expect Jayson will be starting in leftfield on Opening Day but I also think he needs to sit 2 games a week versus the 1 game a week he sat on average in 2016. Jayson has to be saved from himself IMHO and it’s Dusty who has to just do it. That should keep Jayson’s body more rested and I think make him more productive which seems to be the thinking of the forecasting services.

I’m sure you have some thoughts on all of that.

JWerth’s Beard: I haven’t followed any projections but JW seems to have had a knack for proving people wrong throughout his career. It’s gone from people saying he couldn’t hit righties and wasn’t an everyday player to people writing him off after 2011 and 2015. I’m excited to see what happens in 2017. His production in the playoffs showed that there’s still plenty left in the tank. The critics know what they can do, as he told Kolko. 😂

I think Dusty does a great job at resting guys, so I have no worries about how he’ll handle JW or everyone else’s playing time.

Ghost: Hopefully you read our Simon Pond piece on him and Jayson.

People were counting Jayson out shortly after his draft to Baltimore and converting him from catcher. He could always hit and his defense was always underrated IMHO although 2015 he finally showed some regression but he has very good instincts.

Jayson just needs to stay healthy and he will once again surpass the low expectations people set.

I love the projections FanGraphs has, play him 5 days a week and his game will improve, and that is inline with my projections.

Fresh legs = a productive Jayson Werth

Then we can ramp up “Should the Nats Extend Jayson Werth”

JWerth’s Beard: Thank you for the opportunity to participate.

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