Washington Nationals - 5 questions

[Dr. Jack]

Washington Nationals


1: What impact will RHP Stephen Strasburg have in 2010? The talk of the Washington offseason was young phenom Stephen Strasburg. With a fastball that has people comparing him to Nolan Ryan, he is seen as the savior of the Washington franchise. While he may very well be the future of the franchise, he is not it's present. Washington is going to take a cautious approach with Strasburg, starting him off the in minors and letting him get acclimated to professional baseball. Strasburg will likely make an appearance during the season, probably as a September call-up, but his impact with the major league squad will be minimal.


2: Will the pitching improve? Washington finished the 2009 season amongst the league worst in a number of pitching categories. The staff had a 5.00 ERA (28th in the league), a .276 BAA (28th), walked 629 batters (30th), had only 911 Ks (30th), and converted just 57% of save opportunities (30th). Only two pitchers are safe bets to be in the rotation as Spring Training begins. RHP John Lannan (9-13, 3.88 ERA) has spent the last two seasons with the big league club. He has a sub-4.00 ERA in both seasons, but walks too many batters while striking out too few. Alongside Lannan at the top of the rotation is RHP Jason Marquis (15-13, 4.04 ERA in 2009 with Colorado). Marquis is a good inning-eater to have at the back of your rotation, but not someone you look for at the top. Fighting for the remaining spots are LHP Scott Olsen (2-4, 6.03 ERA in 11 starts), RHP Livan Hernandez (9-12, 5.44 ERA with that Mets and Nationals), RHP Craig Stammen (4-7, 5.11 ERA in 19 starts), RHP Garrett Mock (3-10, 5.62 ERA, 15 starts in 28 games), and RHP J.D. Martin (5-4, 4.44 ERA in 15 starts). Except for Hernandez, all of these pitchers are young, but none have shown the ability to step up to the next level yet. RHP Chien-Ming Wang was been signed, but is still recovering from injury and the Nationals are not certain when he will take the mound. The addition of veteran C Ivan Rodriguez will help the young pitchers immensely and may give a jump start to their progression. So will the staff improve in 2010? Maybe. One thing's for certain, though. They can't get much worse.


3: Will the league's worst defense be improved? Washington led the league in 2009 with 143 errors. The combination of pitchers not being able to strike batters out and fielders not being able to field the ball led to the Nationals allowing 874 runs (29th in the league), 83 of which were unearned. Moving Adam Dunn from LF to 1B will help the outfield while the addition of C Ivan Rodriguez behind the plate will help keep order in the infield. The team will not be at the top of any fielding categories come the end of 2010, but they will likely have improved somewhat.


4: Can the lineup step up production? The combination of 3B Ryan Zimmerman (.292, 36 HR, 106 RBI), 1B Adam Dunn (.267, 38 HR, 105 RBI) and LF Josh Willingham (.260, 24 HR, 61 RBI) gives Washington a solid middle of the lineup. The midseason acquisition of CF Nyjer Morgan provided the Nationals with a spark in the 49 games he appeared in before going on the DL, batting .351, with a .396 OBP and 24 steals. The Nationals expect Morgan to develop into one of the best leadoff hitters in the league. The addition of 2B Adam Kennedy (.289, 11 HR, 63 RBI in Oakland) gives the Nationals extra production farther down the order. Washington is still waiting for OF Elijah Dukes (.250, 8HR, 58 RBI in 364 AB) to put him game together, and any progress from him could further solidify the lineup. While not the most potent lineup in the league, they can score enough runs to make games interesting.


5: Where will the Nationals finish the season? The Nationals simply don't have enough pitching to make a run at the playoffs. The impending arrival of Strasburg adds some excitement to the franchise, but 2010 won't his year in the sun. This is still a developing team that has a ways to go, but Manager Jim Riggleman had them playing better baseball in the second half of last season. Look for an improvement over the 59-103 record of 2009, possibly even creeping towards the upper 70s in wins, but much can't be expected from this club. You can find Washington to win the National League at +9000 and to win the World Series at +19000 over at 5dimes Sportsbook.