Notable Additions: Joey Gallo, Nick Senzel, Dylan Floro
Notable Losses: Dominic Smith, Carl Edwards Jr, Cory Abbott
They are a promising team but not a good one yet. The Nationals finished 71-91 in 2023, showing good promise from their young core. Many players from the Trea Turner and Juan Soto trades are in the majors. Some of them are still in the farm system, tearing it up. The Nationals have a fun young team; fans should be very excited.
Projected Starters
C: Keibert Ruiz
1B: Joey Meneses
2B: Luis Garcia Jr
3B: Nick Senzel
SS: CJ Abrams
LF: Joey Gallo
CF: Victor Robles
RF: Lane Thomas
DH: Stone Garrett
Nationals are a solid team but could be better hitters. Meneses, Ruiz, Abrams, and Thomas all had an OPS in the .700s and an OPS+ of 95 or higher. All of those guys mentioned also had 13 or more home runs. The Nationals ranked 21st in OPS as a team, leaving room for improvement but showing potential. Joey Gallo should be an interesting addition. In 111 games with the Twins last year, he hit .177/.301/.440 with 21 home runs and a 104 WRC+. If he can bring his pop to Washington, this batting order could surprise some people. Overall, I give their hitting a 3/10.
Projected Starting Rotation
Josiah Gray
Patrick Corbin
Mackenzie Gore
Jake Irvin
Trevor Williams
Josiah Gray is one of my favorite pitchers in the league, and I am excited to see what he can do for the Nationals this year as their Ace. As for the rest of the rotation, it leaves room for improvement. Patrick Corbin used up all of his good energy for their 2019 World Series run, Mackenzie Gore is fine but still young, and the rest of the rotation is serviceable at best. As a team, they were 27th in the league in ERA and 28th in WHIP. The Nationals have a lot of promising hitters, but they need to work on getting some better pitchers. Overall pitching ranking, 2/10.
Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey are the two that will be fighting for the closer role. The other will probably be the premier setup man. They both had good 2023 seasons, putting up a 3.76 ERA and 2.82 ERA, respectively. I would lean toward Hunter Harvey, given he had a lower H/9 and higher K/9 last year. Outside of them, the bullpen needs more horsepower. I give their bullpen a 3/10.
Sock’s 2 X-Factors
Josiah Gray: Acquired in the Trea Turner and Max Scherzer trade, Josiah Gray is a 26-year-old with many pitches in his arsenal. He throws a 4 seam fastball, slider, cutter, sinker, curveball, sweeper, and changeup. Gray doesn’t use his changeup often, but the rest of his pitches have a 16.2% or higher usage rate. He is in the 80th percentile in breaking ball run value and had 143 strikeouts to go along with it. I will admit his WHIP is high, but I am projecting a breakout year for him with another all-star appearance coming off his 3.91 ERA season.
Lane Thomas: Acquired in the Jon Lester trade, Thomas, 28, hit .268/.316/.468 with 28 home runs and a 109 WRC+. His strikeout rate was high at 25.8%, but he was still very productive at the plate. He is also a respectable base stealing threat, collecting 20 in 2023. I see him being a big part of the Nationals batting order again in 2023.
Sleeper: Keibert Ruiz: Some may disagree and say he is not a sleeper, but I think he is because he doesn’t get enough respect for offensive output. Also acquired in the Trea Turner and Max Scherzer trade, Ruiz, 25, hit .260/.308/.409 with 18 home runs and 93 WRC+. While his WRC+ is low, he has an impressive 10.3% strikeout rate. He has great plate presence but his defense could be better, so I can’t put him into an X-Factor category yet.
Prospects to Look Forward to
Dylan Crews: The Nationals have two very hyped prospects, and it starts with Dylan Crews. Drafted 2nd overall in the 2023 MLB draft, he hit .426/.567/.713 with 18 home runs in 71 games. He also led all of college baseball with 71 walks and had a 13.4% strikeout rate in his junior year. Crews is already a polished player at 22 years old and should take less time to climb the Nationals farm system compared to other prospects. He will be a problem for the majors when he reaches the 26-man roster.
James Woods: Acquired from the Juan Soto trade, Woods, 21, will be the opposite corner outfielder next to Dylan Crews. Standing at an impressive 6’6″, he hit 26 home runs in the minor leagues in 2023 and had 18 stolen bases to go alongside those long balls. Admittedly, he did have a concerning 33.7% strikeout rate, mainly against breaking balls. If he can clean that up, he can be a consistent 30-home-run hitter who hits north of .270 annually.
GM For a Day
I would look to get Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz locked up for 8+ years. They are 26 and 25, respectively, and should give you great production well into their 30s. Let them be the cornerstone pieces that help bring the Nationals to a World Series at the end of the decade.
Projected Finish: 66-96, 5th in the NL East, 14th in the NL.
+ There are no comments
Add yours