Víctor Robles (Chilean Politician)

Víctor Enrique Robles Brito (born May 19, 1997) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and was part of the Nationals' 2019 World Series victory. Robles signed with the Nationals as an international free agent in 2013 and made his MLB debut in 2017.

Career

Washington Nationals

Minor leagues

Robles signed with the Washington Nationals as an international free agent in 2013, receiving a $225,000 signing bonus. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Nationals in the rookie-level Dominican Summer League, batting .313 with three home runs, 25 runs batted in (RBI), and 26 stolen bases in 47 games. Robles started 2015 with the Gulf Coast Nationals in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League, playing in 23 games and hitting .370 with two home runs, 11 RBI, and 12 stolen bases before he was promoted to the Auburn Doubledays in the Low-A New York–Penn League. He finished the season with Auburn, hitting .343 with two home runs, 16 RBI, and 12 stolen bases for the Doubledays.

Robles began the 2016 season with the Hagerstown Suns of the Single-A South Atlantic League. In 64 games for the Suns, he hit .305 with five home runs, and stealing 19 bases. He earned a promotion to the Potomac Nationals of the High-A Carolina League in late June, where he spent the rest of the season, except for a brief rehabilitation stint with the Gulf Coast League Nationals after returning from the seven-day disabled list. In 41 games with Potomac, he batted .262, hit three home runs, and stole 18 bases. For the three teams combined, he hit .280 with nine home runs, 42 RBI, and 37 stolen bases during 2016.

Robles became the Nationals' top prospect after the team traded pitcher Lucas Giolito to the Chicago White Sox on December 7, 2016. Writer Jim Callis said that same month that he believed Robles could be considered the top overall prospect in baseball by the end of the 2017 season. In July 2017, '' MLB Pipeline'' ranked Robles as the fifth-best prospect in baseball.

Robles began the 2017 season with Potomac. He was selected to play in the 2017 All-Star Futures Game. On July 24, after 77 games with Potomac, batting .289 with seven home runs, 33 RBI, and 16 stolen bases, the Nationals promoted Robles to the Harrisburg Senators of the Double-A Eastern League. Robles finished the minor-league season with Harrisburg, putting up a .324 batting average with an .883 on-base plus slugging percentage over 37 games with the Senators, hitting three home runs, driving in 14 runs, and stealing 11 bases.

Major leagues

=2017

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After the Eastern League season ended, the Nationals promoted Robles to the major leagues for the first time on September 7, 2017. He was the youngest player in the 2017 MLB season. He debuted that night against the Philadelphia Phillies as a pinch hitter, flying out to right field. On September 10, Robles reached base safely for the first time in his major league career after being hit by a pitch. Later in the game, he got his first career major league hit, a double off the Nationals Park scoreboard, also getting his first RBI. However, he was called out while trying to stretch the double into a triple, sliding past third base. He finished the regular season with the Nationals having played in 13 games, batting .250 with a double and two triples and driving in four runs. He made the Nationals' postseason playoff roster and appeared in two games in the 2017 National League Division Series (NLDS), striking out in his only plate appearance but scoring one run.

After Washington lost the 2017 NLDS to the Chicago Cubs in five games, Robles played in the Arizona Fall League. In 13 games with the Mesa Solar Sox, he went 10-for-41 (.244), had a .389 on-base percentage, hit three home runs and one double, drove in seven runs, and stole seven bases. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the league's Fall Stars Game after going 1-for-3 with a walk, driving in a run, and scoring two runs.

=2018–2019

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Robles hit .188 in 21 spring-training games in 2018 before the Nationals optioned him to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Triple-A International League. Ranked as the sixth-best prospect in baseball by MLB.com, he went 4-for-4 with a walk in his second game with Syracuse, driving in a run, stealing a base, and scoring two runs, including the go-ahead run in the ninth inning that gave the Chiefs a win; three of his hits came on the first pitch. He started the year 5-for-13 (.385) with one RBI into his fourth game of the year when, on April 9, he hyperextended his elbow while diving to make a catch in shallow center field. He was removed from the game. His injury did not require surgery, but it forced him onto the disabled list. Robles started a rehab assignment with the Gulf Coast League Nationals on July 7, alongside fellow Chiefs outfielder Alejandro De Aza. He rejoined the Nationals on September 4. In less than one month in the majors in 2018, he batted .288/.349/.525 with three home runs, ten RBI, and three stolen bases in five attempts in 66 plate appearances. He was the seventh-youngest player in the NL.

In 2019, Robles batted .255/.326/.419 with 17 home runs, 65 RBI, 25 hit by pitch (2nd in the NL), and 28 stolen bases (5th) in 37 attempts. In his rookie season, he had the highest percentage of soft contact and lowest percentage of hard contact percentage among National League batters. Robles had an average exit velocity of 83.3 mph on balls in play, the second slowest in baseball. Defensively, he had a 22 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) rating, the best among major league center fielders. He led all center fielders with 12 assists but also tied for the National League lead with 6 outfield errors. He was a finalist for the NL Gold Glove Award in center field, losing to Lorenzo Cain.

Robles started the 2019 postseason hot, batting .313 in five games from the Wild Card game through the National League Championship Series. He missed several playoff games with a hamstring injury. Robles started all seven games of the World Series, hitting just .160 in the bottom third of the batting order, as the Nationals defeated the Houston Astros to win their first championship.

= 2020–2024

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In 2020, Robles batted .220/.293/.315 with three home runs and 15 RBI in 189 plate appearances. He had the lowest slugging percentage of all NL hitters. Balls he hit had an average exit velocity of 82.2 mph, the third slowest in the majors.

Robles struggled offensively in 2021, batting .203/.310/.295 with just two home runs and 19 RBI in 315 at bats. His average exit velocity of 84.1 mph was the fourth slowest in baseball. On August 31, he was optioned to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.

In 2022, Robles batted .224/.273/.311 in 366 at bats, and led the major leagues with 10 bunt hits. On defense, he led NL center fielders with 7 assists and 6 errors. Balls he hit had an average exit velocity of 84.6 mph, again the third slowest in the majors. After playing in 36 games in 2023, Robles was placed on the injured list with back spasms on June 21. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on July 26, not returning to action.

Robles played in 14 games for the Nationals in 2024, hitting .120/.281/.120 with two RBI and four stolen bases. On May 27, Robles was designated for assignment by Washington, and the team released him on June 1.

Seattle Mariners

On June 4, 2024, Robles signed a major league contract with the Seattle Mariners. He became the team's leadoff hitter by the end of July and played all three outfield positions, often filling in for Julio Rodríguez in center field. On August 12, he signed a two-year, $9.75 million extension with the Mariners, with a $9 million club option for 2027. Robles had one of the most productive stretches of his big league career with the Mariners in 2024, batting .328 with 4 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 77 games. His only caught stealing attempt with Seattle came on a failed steal of home on September 17. In his next plate appearance, he was hit by a Luis Gil pitch, injuring his right index finger. Robles briefly laughed with Gil before the injury forced him out of the game, a blowout loss to the New York Yankees.

Robles was the Mariners' Opening Day right fielder in 2025. On April 6, he made a diving catch into the netting at the edge of foul territory at Oracle Park. On the play, he dislocated his left shoulder and allowed the eventual winning run to advance into scoring position. Within days, Robles was placed on the 10-day injured list and ruled out for at least 12 weeks. He said he did not regret making the catch.

Scouting report

As a prospect in 2016, Robles was considered a five-tool player, with speed as his best asset and his power lagging. His speed in 2016 was compared to then-Nationals shortstop Trea Turner, one of the fastest runners in baseball. In 2017, Robles sprint speed of 30.9 feet per second was best in the majors, but by 2024, it had dropped to 27.8 feet per second, which outside the top 25 percent of major league players. His throwing arm strength ranked in the top 7 percent of baseball in every season from 2020 through 2024.

Robles consistently has one of the slowest average exit velocities among major league hitters. This leads him to have low slugging percentages, though his speed has allowed him to have at least 20 doubles in four seasons.

Personal life

Robles and his wife Kirsy have a son. He has two pet monkeys, Kikito and Keka.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robles, Victor
1997 births
Living people
Águilas Cibaeñas players
Auburn Doubledays players
Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
Dominican Summer League Nationals players
Gulf Coast Nationals players
Hagerstown Suns players
Harrisburg Senators players
Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen
Major League Baseball outfielders
Potomac Nationals players
Rochester Red Wings players
Seattle Mariners players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Washington Nationals players
Baseball players from Santo Domingo Province