Last week marked the start of the 2024 MLB season and a fresh start for the rebuilding Washington Nationals franchise.
The highlight from opening week isn’t what Nationals fans would have expected. The player wasn’t even on the Opening Day roster. Enter rookie Trey Lipscomb.
Trey didn’t make the Opening Day roster, but was called up on Saturday when what the Nationals thought would be their starting 3rd baseman Nick Senzel sustained a fractured right thumb in pregame warmups before Opening Day in Cincinnati. Considering the circumstances, it couldn’t have worked out much better for the Nationals, getting to call up last year’s franchise’s Minor League Defensive Player of the Year and the 2023 Minor League Gold Glove Award 3rd baseman.
Lipscomb, who was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft right out of the University of Tennessee, went straight from driving in runs in college to driving dozens in in the minors. In his senior collegiate season, he led the SEC and tallied the fifth most RBIs in the country with 80.
Lipscomb, 23, came into the majors hot, right off of a Spring Training where he led all of MLB in batting average (.400) as well as finishing in the top 10 in OBP, OPS, and hits. But it isn’t a surprise for Washington that he was so successful this spring in West Palm Beach. He is coming off of a 2023 campaign, his first full professional season, where he led all Nationals Minors League players in doubles (29) and hits (139) and ranked in the top 5 in home runs and RBIs split between the Wilmington Blue Rocks (High A) and Harrisburg Senators (Double A).
After finishing batting practice for the Rochester Red Wings (Nationals Triple A), Lipscomb received some surprising news. How he found out that he would be a Major Leaguer was a special moment he will never forget.
The moment didn’t feel real for Lipscomb until he walked out to the Major League dugout for his media session before his debut.
“I think it’s all starting to kick in right now,” Lipscomb said. “Definitely was like a numb kind of feeling, I didn’t know how to feel. But it feels good, obviously I’m excited to be here.”
He made his Major League debut over the weekend against the Reds. Over the course of his first three MLB games, he went 5 for 11 (.455), with one homerun and one stolen base in his very short professional career.
Even though the debut was unexpected this past weekend, Lipscomb was surrounded by more than two dozen family members who witnessed a dream of his becoming a reality.
“It’s an incredible experience. To have all of us here, to be with him is truly amazing,” said Lipscomb’s mother, Dayna. “I felt like we were just in Tennessee playing college baseball, and now here we are on an MLB field. It’s really surreal. I don’t think it’ll really soak in until the game starts.”
This is just the beginning of Trey Lipscomb’s Major League career and the Nationals hope he can fill the void at 3rd base. Not only will Lipscomb try to fill that vacancy for the next few weeks, but if he performs like the first few games, it will be a tough decision for Davey Martinez to take him out of the lineup.
