WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Think Dustin Pedroia. Think raging competitive fire and hard slides and high energy. Think doubles and stolen bases and leading the charge up any mountain.

“He’s not afraid of anybody,” Adam Eaton said. “He’s ready for it whenever.”

This is who Eaton would love to be as he begins his third season with the Nationals.

“In ’07 and ’08 when I was still in high school and college and he was really getting in it, watching him, that’s exactly what I wanted to be,” Eaton said. “You can bring that energy every single day. Effort and energy.”

Pedroia plays crazy hard, and at times, he plays angry. Annoying to opponents? At times, most definitely.

“I think anytime there’s a little agitation factor, guys feed off it,” Eaton said. “I want to be that type of player that everybody hates to play against and is kind of agitating, but once you’re on my team, you enjoy being around me.”

The Nats are hoping Pedroia is a good comparison when they consider what it would be like to finally have Eaton for a full season.

“He is that guy,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “He’s a spark plug. You watch him even in a Spring Training at-bat. If he doesn’t think he has a good at-bat, he’ll come in and slam his helmet or throw his bat down. He’s a little feisty.”

Maybe you’ve heard the Nats are going to be different in 2019 after Bryce Harper took his talents up I-95 from Washington to Philadelphia.

In his place, the Nationals probably will roll out a pair of gifted 20- and 21-year-old outfielders -- Juan Soto and Victor Robles -- and watch them grow.

And in this mix, there’s Eaton. Two offseasons ago, Nats general manager Mike Rizzo surrendered a significant package of prospects to get a guy he thought would spark his team to another level.

Then injuries happened. Eaton tore up his left knee in 2017, and wrecked his left foot and ankle in '18. When on the field, he's been as good as advertised. In 118 games for the Nationals over two seasons, Eaton's numbers speak for themselves: .816 OPS, 25 doubles, 12 stolen bases, etc.

Eaton showed up this spring after a healthy offseason, excited for another start. He’ll play right field and hit first or second in the order. He’ll run fast, play hard and tick off some opponents.

“You want to play at the highest clip possible,” he said. “If you’re successful or you fail, you know you did it at the best clip you could. To be able to come in [to Spring Training] and have a full offseason -- no surgeries, no rehab -- that was nice.”

The Nats are hoping to see the guy who averaged 28 doubles, 9 triples, 10 home runs and 16 stolen bases during his time with the White Sox.

And yeah, that energy.

“I’m very, very excited,” Eaton said. "I think the type of player I am is what I showed in three years with Chicago. You have to prove everything every single day, but I think [the fans in Washington have] accepted me in the short bursts I’ve had. I think I owe it to ‘em. They gave up a lot of very good players to get me.”

Now 29 and 5-foot-9, Eaton was 4-foot-11 his freshman season in high school in Ohio. He remembers his dad telling him that whatever he lacked in height he could make up for with effort.

That’s about the time he saw the 5-foot-9 Pedroia, the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year Award winner and the '08 AL Most Valuable Player Award winner, as a role model.

“Hit the ball the other way and run like heck,” Eaton said. “Bring energy. If I play a finesse game, it doesn’t work for me. Everybody plays at a different tilt. Not that I’m reckless, but there has to be a lot of effort being exerted.”