Washington Nationals
2015 Win/Loss Record:
83-79, 2nd in National League East
Last Postseason
Appearance: 2014
Last World Series
Championship: None
Key Arrivals: Daniel
Murphy (2B), Ben Revere (OF), Yusmeiro Petit (P)
Key Departures: Drew
Storen (P), Doug Fister (P), Jordan Zimmerman (P)
Manager: Dusty
Baker, 1st Year,
W/L (1671-1504 in 20 years with Giants, Cubs and
Reds)
Overall Review: Let’s pretend last year
didn’t happen. There’s too much talent on this team to be finishing in second
place in the NL East. But for the Montreal Expos’ twelfth season playing in
Washington, the team will be back on top in the division and will finally make
it to the NLCS. Their previous two postseason appearances resulted in early
exits. Shouldn’t happen this year.
Losing Jordan Zimmermann to the
Detroit Tigers will hurt the starting staff. And they traded their second-best
relief pitcher Drew Storen to the Blue Jays for Ben Revere. But even with those
departures, both the rotation and the bullpen are in very good shape, provided
they aren’t hampered by injuiry and dugout bickerings.
Offense: The National League’s best
player resides in Washington. That would be reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, who at
only 22 years of age batted .330, led the NL with 42 home runs and drove in 99.
He has already been an All-Star three times and he was the NL’s Rookie of the
Year in 2012. It’s hard to believe he has accomplished so much while being so
young and he’s got Albert Pujols potential, provided he can stay healthy.
Left-fielder Jayson Werth is running out of years. He will be 37 in 2016 and
can’t seem to avoid the injury bug as he ages. In his five seasons since coming
over from Philly, Werth has only played more than 130 games twice. Last year,
in 88 games, he batted a paltry .221, hit 12 homers and added 42 RBIs.
Second baseman Daniel Murphy
joins the Nats from division rival, the Mets and brings with him a .281 average
from New York. Murphy also hit 14 home runs and drove in 73 last year.
Centre-fielder Michael Taylor will be a contributer but needs to improve on his
.229 average from a year ago. He did, however, hit 14 homers and added 63 RBIs
while stealing 16 bases. His speed helps him catch a lot of balls hit into the
gaps.
Pitching: The starting staff is the
strength of the team, and will determine how far the Nats will advance in the
postseason. Max Scherzer will be the ace of the staff in his second season in
Washington after coming over from Detroit. His 2.79 ERA deserved better than
his 14-12 record. With some run support this year, he could win 20 games. He
struck out 276 batters in 228 2/3 innings. Stephen Strasburg will take another
shot at being the big-time starter Washington was hoping they were getting when
they drafted him first overall in 2009. Health issues have nagged him since he
came into the league but the potential is still there, but he’s 27 now and
needs to turn it up a notch. He was 11-7 last year with a 3.46 ERA and 155
strikeouts.
The bullpen will be led by closer
Jonathan Papelbon. His little dugout spat with Bryce Harper is supposedly a
thing of the past now, but Papelbon has a reputation for having a bit of toxic
personality. Splitting 2015 with the Phillies and Nationals, Papelbon had 24 saves, and has 349 in his career.
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| Nationals' hurler Max Scherzer |
Prediction: The Nationals should
rebound from their disappointing season and win the NL East Division. However,
they have travelled this path before where they look like one of the best teams
in March, only to falter when it matters. New manager Dusty Baker will have to
get some egos in check, but he brings a managerial pedigree over a 20-year
career.
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