RSS Nationals Team Notes

[Washington Nationals]

Nationals Grades: Jacob Young played elite defense but that was it

Jacob Young had a weird season. He produced some of the coolest and most memorable plays in recent Nationals history. However, his season was also a bit of a let down. Young is one of the best in the sport patrolling center field, but his game became one dimensional this year.

Let’s start with the numbers. Offensively, Jacob Young took a step back in 2025. He was no offensive star in 2024, but he hit a solid .256 with a .647 OPS. Not great, but good enough given his defensive ability. In 2025, he only hit .231 with a .583 OPS. Last season, Young posted 2.7 fWAR despite the lackluster offense. This year, that number fell to 1.0 fWAR.

The reason for that was his elite defense, but also elite baserunning. In 2024, Young was a very strong base runner. He stole 33 bases and posted 4.3 BsR, which helped him collect value. That was a very important part of his game and something he will need to get back to.

The base running was just not as good for Young in 2025. He only stole 15 bases while being caught a league leading 11 times. Young was just indecisive on the base paths. His jumps were poor and he was caught in between a lot. For the season, Young’s BsR was exactly 0. For a player of his archetype, that is unacceptable.

You can be a starting player with a below average bat, but you need to do a lot of things well. Young only did one thing well, and that was the defense. His bunting, base running and situational hitting all got worse in 2025. Those are things Young needs to do to get more than sporadic playing time.

However, his defense will always give him a spot in the MLB. Young is just an elite center fielder. Since 2024, Young has 34 OAA, which is truly awesome stuff. Just ask Mets fans about his defense, they can attest to it. He helped keep the big money Mets out of the playoffs with two insane plays.

The first one was an insane improvisational catch by Young. He went up to the wall to make a play. Young got his glove on it, but the ball was falling to the ground. While it was falling, Young kicked it to himself to make a crazy play.

JACOB YOUNG OH MY GOODNESS! pic.twitter.com/bHaSqV0d29

— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2025

In the 9th inning, Young struck again, robbing Francisco Alvarez of a homer. With the Mets missing the playoffs by a tiebreaker, these plays probably cost the Mets a chance at October baseball.

Jacob Young is looking like Superman out there pic.twitter.com/mUkLEvWJ98

— Kev (@klwoodjr) September 21, 2025

In the field, Young is such a dynamic playmaker and clearly deserves an MLB spot. He is simply more valuable than a guy like Robert Hassell because he has one elite skill. However, he is too one dimensional to be a full time starter in my opinion.

Next year, I think the Nats should roll with Wood, Crews and Lile in the outfield, with Young as the 4th guy. It would be a good role for him because he would be able to come into a lot of games as a defensive replacement.

If Young wants to get back to being a real part of this core, the offense needs to really improve, which feels unlikely and his base running needs to improve, which is more realistic. The 2024 version of Jacob Young was a pretty valuable player. He needs to get back to that because he was a one trick pony this year.

Season Grade: C-/D+

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...ades-jacob-young-played-elite-defense-that-it

 

[Washington Nationals]

The four most painful Washington Nationals playoff losses

Over the last couple of days, there have been some painful playoff exits. The Phillies and the Tigers both got sent home in agonizing fashion. Detroit got sent home in a 15 inning thriller in Seattle, while a brutal decision by Orion Kerkering cost the Phillies their season. Nationals fans are all too familiar with these heartbreaking games, so let’s turn back the clock.

It's all over at Chavez Ravine #CLINCHED

(MLB x @BudweiserUSA) pic.twitter.com/W3mVVBYq13

— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2025

4. 2016 NLDS Game 5 vs LA Dodgers:

The first game on this list is one of three winner-take-all contests we have here. This 4-3 loss was somehow the least agonizing of the Game 5’s over the years. In the other two game 5’s, it felt like the Nationals were the better team and deserved to advance. However, in this series, I just think the Dodgers outplayed the Nats over the five games.

Of course, that 2016 team was awesome. It is one of my favorite Nationals teams ever. Daniel Murphy and Max Scherzer were both so electric that season, with Mad Max winning a Cy Young and Murphy finishing second in MVP voting. Dusty Baker’s composed managerial style was also a breath of fresh air after the 2015 Matt Williams debacle.

The game was a 1-0 Nats lead going into the 7th. Max Scherzer was cruising through six innings. However, after a Joc Pederson homer to start the 7th, Scherzer’s day was done after 99 pitchers. In hindsight, maybe Baker should have rode his Cy Young winner a little longer.

That set the stage for a slow motion collapse where five Nats relievers appeared in the 7th inning. None of them had much luck and by the end of the inning, it was 4-1 Dodgers. It really felt like Dusty Baker had over managed.

However, the Nationals were not gonna go down without a fight. In the bottom of the 7th, Chris Heisey hit a 2-run homer to make it a one run game. After that, there was tons of traffic, but the Dodgers always got out unscathed.

The critical moment came in the bottom of the 9th. After two walks by Kenley Jansen, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw came in to close out the game. He came in to face the dynamic Daniel Murphy with two on and one out. Murphy missed a cookie from Kershaw and popped it up.

Wilmer Difo was the last man on the bench and struck out to end the game. However, the game was really over when Murphy popped up. It was a tough loss, but there are worse ones coming.

3. 2014 NLDS Game 2 vs San Francisco Giants

The Mariners vs Tigers game last night actually reminded me of this game. Innings just kept coming and going with nobody wanting to score. That is what happened when the Nats met the Giants in the NLDS in 2014. Except this game took 18 innings to be decided, not 15.

This is the only game on this list that was not an elimination game, which shows how painful it really was. There were a couple brutal losses in this series, with this game and the one where Aaron Barrett couldn’t throw the ball accurately to the catcher for an intentional walk. Of course, nowadays you don’t have to throw the four pitches.

This game will always be known as the one where Matt Williams did not let Jordan Zimmermann finish the job. After finishing the season with a no-hitter, Zimmermann picked up right where he left off in the NLDS.

The Nats had lost game one of the series at home, so they needed this one. Through 8.2 innings, Zimmermann was unbelievable. He had allowed 3 hits and 1 walk. However, after walking a batter in the 9th with two outs, Matt Williams had seen enough.

He pulled Zimmermann for closer Drew Storen. This was an awful decision. Storen was the author of the brutal collapse in 2012 and Zimmermann was dealing. He was only at 100 pitches as well. However, Williams went to his closer anyway.

Ex-Nat of the Day Drew Storen (2010-15) had a 3.02 ERA and 95 saves in 355 regular season games, but an 8.44 ERA and 1 save in 6 postseason games. He’s currently recovering from Tommy John surgery. pic.twitter.com/EGr5Qu7MtF

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 3, 2018

Of course, this would not work out. The Giants got two straight hits off of Storen to tie the game. After the Nats got shut down in the bottom of the 9th, the game would go to extras.

In extra innings, it was a marathon where nobody wanted to score. Yusmeiro Petit pitched an insane six scoreless innings of relief for the Giants that night. The ever reliable Craig Stammen tossed three scoreless frames for the Nats.

It was a battle of attrition, who would blink first. The Nats were sadly the team to blink first. In the 18th inning, Brandon Belt launched a home run deep into the DC night. It was a no doubt shot. Even though the Nats had the bottom of the inning, that felt like a dagger.

It was the kill shot, and the Nats would not score. The Nationals would actually beat Madison Bumgarner in San Francisco to extend the series to four games, but they lost in that game four. Just a devastating game.

2. 2017 NLDS Game 5 vs Chicago Cubs

After an iconic game four win to split the series, the Nats had forced a game 5 against the defending champions. They had all the momentum after a gutsy Stephen Strasburg start and a Michael A. Taylor grand slam.

After the Cubs struck first, the Nats crushed Kyle Hendricks in the 2nd inning. Daniel Murphy hit a solo shot and then Michael A. Taylor had another huge moment with a 3-run homer. It looked like smooth sailing.

However, Gio Gonzalez just didn’t have it that night. He only gave the Nats three innings and allowed three runs. That meant it was 4-3 entering the fifth inning. Nats ace Max Scherzer came in to try to give the Nats big innings.

It was not Scherzer’s day though. After getting two quick outs, things collapsed. Scherzer got unlucky with some cheap hits and it cost him. His catcher Matt Wieters also had a disaster of an inning. A double made it 5-4, but after that, Max got let down.

He got his strikeout which should have ended the inning. However, Wieters couldn’t catch the ball and the batter got to first and a runner scored. Just a disastrous sequence. Things got even worse after a catcher’s interference by Wieters. After a hit by pitch with the bases loaded, it was 7-4. Just an apocalyptic inning.

However, the Nats fought back. After the Cubs made it 8-4 on a horribly misplayed ball by Jayson Werth, the Nats cut the lead to two in the bottom of the frame. However, the Nats couldn’t hold the Cubs yet again and the game was 9-6.

Cubs closer Wade Davis came in during the 7th inning. He was not very sharp and the Nats scored on him in that inning and in the 8th. However, a mental mistake cost the Nats big time when Jose Lobaton was picked off.

It was 9-8 in the 9th, but Davis locked in. He got a 1-2-3 inning. The image of him striking out Bryce Harper is burned in my brain. It really felt like the Nats were never going to get it done at that point. However, this was somehow not the most brutal loss.

1. 2012 NLDS Game 5 vs St. Louis Cardinals

Of course this one was going to be number one. It was the most agonizing game in Nats history. I remember leaving the ball park in tears that October night. All Nats fans thought the team had advanced to the NLCS, but we lost a game that was tough to lose.

It was all Nationals early. The Nats were all over Adam Wainwright. Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse all homered in the first three innings. It felt like a coronation for the Nationals. They were cruising against the defending champs.

However, the Cardinals would slowly cut away at the lead. Gio Gonzalez was shaky in his five innings of work, allowing three runs. After a scoreless sixth, the Cards struck again in the 7th and 8th to make it a one run game. Things were beginning to get stressful and the Nats were tight.

Then the Nats got an insurance run. Kurt Suzuki got a massive hit to make it 7-5. The crowd let out a massive sigh of relief. It seemed like the Nats had things under control again. Young closer Drew Storen had a two run cushion to work with and he had been lockdown all season.

However, we know what happened next. Frankly, I don’t even like talking about it because it is so sad. After a Carlos Beltran double, Storen got two quick outs. Then he had so many chances to end the game. The Nats were a strike away from victory on multiple occasions. Storen couldn’t put Yadier Molina or David Freese away though. He walked both of them and the Nats were in trouble.

Then two of the Cardinals pipsqueaks broke Nats fans hearts. Daniel Descalso tied the game on a single. However, the real villain of this story is the Cardinals light hitting shortstop Pete Kozma. His name makes me sick.

The little shortstop provided the dagger, with a base hit to make it 9-7. A young Sam Sallick was bawling his eyes out and left the stadium in my parents arms. It was devastating. At that point, the whole crowd knew it was over and it was. The Nats would go quietly into the night and Nats fans learned what baseball heartbreak was like.

So to Tigers and Phillies fans, we know what heartbreak is like. However, the great thing about baseball is that there is always next year. It is a clean slate and hopes are high when you enter Spring Training.

All those battle scars made 2019 even sweeter. The ghosts of Pete Kozma and Drew Storen no longer haunted Nats fans. So keep your head up, because next year can always be the year.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...r-painful-washington-nationals-playoff-losses

 

[Washington Nationals]

Nationals Grades: Robert Hassell III rebounded but was it enough?

Robert Hassell III had an interesting year. In a lot of ways, it was similar to the season Brady House had. Both dominated in the Minors before really struggling once they got called up to the MLB. However, with Hassell being a couple years older than House, there is more urgency for him to succeed right away.

2023 and 2024 were very difficult years for Robert Hassell III. The former top 10 pick, who was known for his natural hitting ability really struggled to hit in the Minors. In both of those seasons, Hassell had an OPS below .650. Hassell also struggled to stay at full health. A hamate injury really sidetracked him in both of those seasons.

However, Nats fans had plenty of optimism when Hassell showed up on fire to Spring Training. He was the breakout star in Nats camp and really battled to win a roster spot. Hassell hit .370 in spring and had fans clamoring for him to break camp.

However, after a couple difficult seasons in the Minors, the Nats took the patient approach and sent him to Triple-A. After struggling in the first month of the season, Hassell came to life in May. He hit .330 with 5 homers that month, which led to his first MLB call up.

Hassell wasted no time making his mark in the MLB. He got a base hit in his first career at bat and was red hot the first couple games of his career. It looked like Hassell had figured it out now that he was finally healthy.

1st MLB hit for Robert Hassell III! pic.twitter.com/U7ZzJP9bMc

— Allsports Roc (@AllsportsRoc) May 22, 2025

However, the game has a way of humbling you. Hassell really struggled in that initial call up. Before getting demoted, Hassell’s OPS was under .500. He was getting overmatched and needed to reset in AAA.

The Nationals would send him down after really struggling in June. However, Hassell took the demotion well and worked on his game. He eliminated his toe tap and moved to a bigger leg lift. That led to better timing and more pull side power. His patience was also a lot better. In AAA, Hassell walked over 10% of the time.

His good play got him another promotion. Once again, Hassell came out red hot. Armed with the new leg kick, Hassell was firing on all cylinders. He was pulling more fly balls, which led to some more extra base hits and homers.

Robert Hassell III Two-Run Home Run, and on his second day back to the bigs! pic.twitter.com/VFRKdhfmYY

— Nats Fan (@Nats_HRs) August 3, 2025

However, it would not last. Once again, Hassell would cool off. A big reason why his bat has not been sustainable is his big strikeout numbers and low walk rate. For the season, Hassell struck out over 30% of the time and walked less than 4% of the time.

For a guy known for his hitting ability, those strikeout rates just do not fly. Unlike James Wood, he does not have the power to make up for that kind of swing and miss. We saw Daylen Lile’s hitting ability translate, but that was not the case for Hassell. Despite hitting .310 with an .839 OPS in AAA, that hitting ability did not come with him to the MLB.

On defense, Hassell played a decent center field. He put up -1 OAA, but got his overall fielding value to 0 due to gaining value with his strong arm. The thing with Hassell is that he does not have a tool he can really hang his hat on. Everything is just average at best across the board.

Robert Hassell III robs Randal Grichuk at the 410 mark in CF. Perfect timing, unreal athleticism. pic.twitter.com/sfLDI3b3Sh

— natsfanatics (@natsfanatics_) August 13, 2025

His hitting ability was supposed to be his carrying tool, but as he went up the Minors into the MLB, the hit tool has not been as advertised. With a glut of outfielders, Hassell could be the odd man out here. We wrote about that at the end of the season. He has the ability to be a versatile piece in an outfield if he can make some improvements.

However, the Nationals have a lot of these potential fourth outfielder types. Between Hassell, Andrew Pinckney and Christian Franklin, there is a surplus of future fourth outfielders. Hassell has the biggest name of those three, so a trade could be possible.

Overall, this was a decent year for Hassell. He rebounded his stock in the Minors and got his way to the MLB. However, he really struggled once he got there. It will be interesting to see what Paul Toboni does with Hassell.

Season Grade: A in the minors and D in the MLB

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...grades-robert-hassell-rebounded-was-it-enough

 

[Washington Nationals]

Three stats the Washington Nationals need to improve to get back to relevancy

It is no secret that the Nationals had an ugly season. Whenever your manager and GM are fired midseason, that is never a good sign. The Washington Nationals were 66-96 in 2025, which was actually a regression from the previous two seasons. With that in mind, it is pretty obvious that there were some ugly stats. I wanted to take a look at the 3 stats the Nationals need instant improvement on.

Paul Toboni is not going to turn this thing around in one season. This will not be a quick fix. However, I do think there is some low hanging fruit for improvement. When looking at the numbers, there were three stats that really jumped out to me. So let’s dive into those.

Pitching Disaster:

The first stat is nothing fancy, it is just the team ERA. In 2025, the Nationals had an ERA of 5.35 as a team. That is just an unacceptable number and is actually the worst in team history. Given that statistic, it should come as no surprise that the Nats allowed the most runs in team history.

FINAL: White Sox 8, Nationals 0. Washington finishes a tumultuous season at 66-96, five games worse than their 2023/2024 record.

The Nationals pitching staff allowed more runs (899) than any team in Nationals history.

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) September 28, 2025

You just can’t win with pitching that bad. The bullpen ERA was the worst in all of baseball and the rotation was not much better. The 2025 Nationals had a massive pitching problem and it is something Paul Toboni will have to solve.

A big theme of the last years of the Mike Rizzo era was that the team was behind the curve. That was clear to see in the pitching staff. We wrote a piece about how the Nationals were throwing more fastballs than ever in a league where the smartest teams are moving away from fastball usage.

Toboni’s Red Sox were one of those teams moving away from fastballs, so that could be a trend to look for next year. When guys like Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker are throwing their mediocre heaters over 50% of the time, something isn’t right. That is why the Nationals had the second worst ERA in all of baseball, only behind a historically bad Rockies team that is at a disadvantage due to playing at altitude.

Nationals fans should not expect some elite staff next year, but a return to respectability would be nice. In 2024, the Nationals had a 4.30 ERA for the season. That is nothing special, but it is solid. The 2025 Nats would have won a lot more games if their ERA was 4.30 instead of 5.35. Getting back to that level seems like a realistic goal.

Flimsy Defense:

However, pitch usage is not the only reason the pitching staff suffered and that leads us to our second statistic. That stat is outs above average, where the Nats -32 mark was the second worst in all of baseball. The defense was just so bad in DC this year.

Defense is an interesting thing to look at because you can win without an elite defense. However, it is nearly impossible to win with a bad defense. Only one of the bottom 11 defensive teams in baseball made the playoffs this year. That team is the Mariners, who make up for it with a great pitching staff and a powerful offense.

Most playoff teams have at least an average defense out there. With the margins being so small in baseball, you can win a lot of games off of making a key play or two every game. That is not something the Nats were doing. In fact, they would lose games with their defense.

Two areas where the Nats were particularly bad defensively were in the middle of the infield and behind the plate. Unfortunately for the Nats, those are two of the most important defensive positions.

Up the middle, CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. were both bad defensively. Having your shortstop and second baseman be bad defensively is tough to live with. It is alright to have one bad defender up the middle, but not two.

Abrams’ defensive struggles at shortstop have led a lot of people to wonder about a move to second base. The position just makes more sense for Abrams. His weaker arm and at times limited range really show up at shortstop. However, I think his athleticism could shine at the second base position. This is something for Paul Toboni to consider.

Watching the Cubs try to get to the NLCS and all I can think about is the Nationals infield defense.

The fastest, cheapest, easiest way for Paul Toboni to make the Nationals a lot better is to improve their infield defense. Garcia (2B) and Abrams (SS) are both well below…

— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) October 12, 2025

The Nationals having bad catching defense is nothing new. Keibert Ruiz has been a bad defensive catcher for most of his career, and nothing changed in 2025. Riley Adams has a rocket arm, but he is also a limited defender.

The framing was especially problematic. In 2025, the Nationals were the worst framing team in all of baseball. The inability to steal strikes really hurt an already poor pitching staff. The catching position as a whole was an absolute disaster for the Nats this season, especially early on. They were historically bad in the first half.

The Nationals Are a Catching Catastrophe https://t.co/5ZANoXiN7R

— FanGraphs Baseball (@fangraphs) June 20, 2025

Paul Toboni needs to look to improve the defense this offseason. It is an easy and often inexpensive way to gain wins. Between finding better defenders and improving the team’s overall fundamentals, I think the defense can become respectable in 2026.

Die from the Home Run:

The home run was a problem for the 2025 Nationals both offensively and pitching wise. On offense, the team actually hit for more power. James Wood gave the team their first 30 home run hitter since 2019.

The Nats went from an abysmal 135 homers in 2024 to a less bad 161 long balls in 2025. Even with the improvement, the Nats still hit the 7th fewest homers in all of baseball. Not great, but still a step in the right direction.

However, the Nationals had a bigger home run problem in 2025 than 2024. How could that be if they hit for more power? That brings us to our last stat which is the home run differential. In 2024, the Nationals gave up 33 more homers than they hit, but in 2025 that number went up to 53.

Obviously, the reason for that is the pitching staff. In 2024, the Nats were good at limiting the long ball. The 168 homers they allowed was actually the 7th fewest in all of baseball. That helped make up for the fact the Nats were not homering.

However, in 2025, the Nats allowed 214 homers, which was the fifth worst in the league. With contact harder to come by than ever, the home run is such an important weapon. Giving up 53 more homers than you hit is an easy way to lose games.

The goal in 2026 should obviously be to prevent more homers. Sure, I would love for the Nats to hit more and they have the potential to do so, but power is a very expensive commodity. I feel like it would be unrealistic to expect the Nats to be top 10 in baseball in homers. However, we saw them be top 10 in fewest homers allowed in 2024. One of Paul Toboni’s goals should be to get that home run differential closer to zero and eventually have it become positive.

There were a lot of ugly stats for the Nats in 2025, but these three tell the story more than any other in my view. The Nats were not only bad at these things, but truly horrible. You cannot win while not pitching well, not fielding well and allowing way more homers than you hit. Paul Toboni needs to find a way to fix this equation in the next couple years for the Nats to get back to playing October baseball.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...ton-nationals-need-improve-get-back-relevancy

 

[Washington Nationals]

Nationals Prospects: Seaver King off to a hot start in the Arizona Fall League

It is no secret that 2025 was a rough year for Nationals first round pick Seaver King. We have talked about it at length. While players selected after him are littered on the top 100 prospect lists, or dominating in the playoffs like Trey Yesavage, King really struggled at the plate. His poor approach is limiting his natural athleticism and is cutting into his numbers.

After hitting .244 with a .631 OPS in High-A and Double-A, the Nats sent King to the Arizona Fall League for more reps. Prospects are sent to the AFL for a variety of reasons. Some are pitchers who need more innings after missing some time due to injury. Others are hitters who need more at bats. Some, like King, just need the AFL to find some mojo.

Confidence is such an important thing in baseball. You can make all the adjustments you want, but you need self belief to succeed. The Nats figured the AFL could be an opportunity for King to reset and get some momentum entering 2026.

So far that looks like a smart move because Seaver King has been raking so far in Arizona. It has been a small sample size, but so far, King is 5/13 with a double and a homer. That strong start gave him a spot on the Baseball America Arizona Fall League hot sheet.

One thing I have noticed is that King is really driving the ball with authority so far. Obviously, he has the home run, but when I have checked the game logs, I have seen a lot of hard contact from King. There are plenty of 100 MPH plus exit velocities, which is great to see. King has the raw power, but tapping into that has been a struggle due to his approach and ground ball hitting tendencies.

Seaver King went 3-for-5 with a double, homer, walk, five RBI and four runs scored last night in @MLBazFallLeague action.

He is 4-for-9 (.444) through two games so far. pic.twitter.com/91ygywefUj

— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) October 9, 2025

Another great thing about the AFL is that you are around players from different organizations. With that comes exposure to new ideas. That is particularly useful for Nats prospects given the state of player development in the organization.

King actually credited Tigers top prospect Kevin McGonigle with giving him a tip that has been helpful. He said that McGonigle told him to not focus as much on his swing and pay more attention to the pitches and his timing. King said that tip was very useful for him.

You want your mind-blown about player development in the #Nats system:

“I was trying to figure out the swing and everything else,” Seaver King said of his time with Wilmington and Harrisburg, “but at the end of the day, like Kevin McGonigle told me: ‘It's never the swing. It's… https://t.co/7etyvrHamA

— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) October 9, 2025

The fact a 21 year old Tigers prospect is doing more to help the development of our prospects than the coaches being paid to develop them is a bit concerning. But hey, sometimes advice from a peer can be more helpful. Hopefully this can be the start of something for King.

Seaver King has a lot of physical tools. He can really run, has good raw power, actually has decent contact skills and can play good defense. However, that feel for the game is what is missing for him. Given the fact he was playing D2 baseball not that long ago, that makes some sense. He was always going to be a slower burn.

Even with that in mind, his first pro season was still disappointing. As a top 10 pick out of college, you should be able to hold your own more than he did at AA. However, this AFL gives the fans some hope for Seaver King.

Next year is a massive season for him. He can re-establish himself with a big season, but if he struggles again, hope will really fade for him. As a raw but athletic talent, King could be a guy who really benefits from the regime change. If they make the right changes to his game, King has the ability to take off. Hopefully this AFL success is a sign of things to come.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...cts-seaver-king-hot-start-arizona-fall-league

 

[Washington Nationals]

What the Washington Nationals can learn from the Brewers and Dodgers

The NLCS between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers began last night. It has been branded as something of a David vs Goliath type showdown. These two teams go about their business in very different ways, but both have success. The Washington Nationals can learn a lot from both teams and how they operate.

Let’s start with the Brewers, who have been branded as the scrappy underdogs despite winning 97 games this season, four more than the Dodgers. Some analysts seem confused as to why they are presented that way, but it is pretty obvious as to why this is the case.

For one, the Dodgers are the defending World Series champions who have been the defining team of the 2020’s. The other reason is the payroll discrepancy. LA spends more on a couple players than the Brewers do on their whole team. The Dodgers have infinite resources in ways other teams do not.

Dodgers two key guys tonight were Snell and Freeman. They signed FA contracts totaling $344 million dollars.

The cumulative Brewers payroll for the past three seasons is $330 million. That’s our entire payroll. For three years.

— paulpressey25 (@paulpressey25) October 14, 2025

That financial muscle showed last night with the two stars of the game. Freddie Freeman and Blake Snell won the Dodgers that game last night. Both were big money free agent pickups. They were elite players that hit the market and the Dodgers just splashed the cash to pick them up.

Snell pitched 8 beautiful innings, shutting the Brewers down, while Freeman provided the offense with a moonshot in the 6th inning. The Dodgers took advantage of the Braves not locking up their franchise player and swooped in to make him a Dodger. They did something similar when they traded for Mookie Betts, who the Red Sox refused to pay.

FREDDIE FREEMAN BREAKS THE DEADLOCK! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/pjv99TQjKL

— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025

There is a lesson for Mark Lerner in this. Sometimes you need to go out and splash the cash to have success. That is what the Nats did in the 2010’s to augment their homegrown core. They did not buy a core like the Dodgers did, but they spent serious cash to support the core they built.

While it is unrealistic to expect Mark Lerner to spend at Dodgers levels, it is fair to expect much more than what we have gotten. At some point, cash is going to have to be spent if the team wants to win a World Series. Even the Brewers, who we will talk about, have struggled to get over the hump because they haven’t had those marquee stars in the way the Dodgers do.

The Dodgers have 15 players making at least $10 million while the Brewers just have 3. Let’s be clear, the Nationals will never have 15 players making at least $10 million, but there is a middle ground Mark Lerner needs to find. However, if they are going to spend, but not like the Dodgers, the Nats will need to learn a thing or two from the Brewers.

The Brewers have become the kings of winning on the margins. When the A’s did their Moneyball experiment, they emphasized getting on base a lot. However, nowadays everyone knows the value of getting on base. Getting on base gets you paid a lot of money, just look at Juan Soto. Yes, he always would be appreciated, but he is appreciated more in this era because of how much he walks.

That meant the Brewers had to find new ways to get an edge, though walks are also a big part of their identity as well. One thing they have really prioritized is contact hitting. In an age where everyone has been hunting for power, the Brewers are not full of sluggers. They were just 22nd in homers this season.

I am sure the Brewers wish they had the kind of power the Dodgers have, but that is expensive. Instead, the Brewers look for under appreciated guys who do the little things well. Players like Isaac Collins or Caleb Durbin. They don’t look the part, but their all around games provide value. Those players hit for average, run the bases well and are good in the field.

Base running and defense are a big part of the Brewers identity. This season, the Brewers were first in base running value and third in defensive value. In an era where pulling the ball in the air has become so emphasized, the Brewers were second to last in air pull rate, only behind the Nats. Sure, they would love to hit homers, but slugging is not their A game and they know it.

The Brewers are also masters of the little things. Davey Martinez used to emphasize doing the little things, but that is a motto that the Brewers truly live by. They are obsessed with getting the runner over or getting a bunt down when needed. The Brewers simply do whatever it takes to score runs.

Small ball CHAOS pic.twitter.com/j48X6xt416

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) April 24, 2025

They made a play last night that really sums them up well. It was a double play that was so hard to describe, I will just put the video down below. However, it was a perfectly on brand Milwaukee Brewers play. They combined great defense with heads up baseball to make the most unlikely of double plays. It was beautiful to watch.

THE MOST REMARKABLE DOUBLE PLAY YOU'LL SEE IN YOUR LIFE#MagicBrew pic.twitter.com/AYgXXQMwk8

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 14, 2025

Last night, the Dodgers star power overcame the Brewers, but it was a very close game. This should be a very good series, though I suspect the Dodgers super team will prevail in the end.

However, this teaches us a good lesson about team building. There are many ways to skin a cat. You can build a baseball team in a variety of ways. For the Nationals, I think Paul Toboni can take the best of both of these approaches and combine that with his player development prowess.

While the two teams have different offensive philosophies and spending habits, one thing does bring them together. Both teams rely on power pitching to help keep runs off the board. They both ranked in the top 5 for strikeouts by their pitchers. You see both of these teams bring out flamethrowers. The Dodgers have Sasaki and the Brewers have Misiorowski.

The Nationals can learn a lot from just watching this postseason and seeing what these teams do well. When I watch these playoffs, I worry a bit. It seems like these teams are playing a different sport than the Nats. Hopefully Toboni can get us on these teams’ level in the next few years.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...gton-nationals-can-learn-from-brewers-dodgers

 

[Washington Nationals]

Nationals News: Jacob Young nominated for a Gold Glove award

Today the nominees for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award were announced. Each league has three nominees per position. As a poor defensive team, the Nationals did not have a lot of representation. Only one National got nominated, and unsurprisingly that was Jacob Young.

The 2025 Rawlings Gold Glove Award Finalists – NL Center Field – Jacob Young, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Victor Scott II #RawlingsGoldGloveAwards pic.twitter.com/vtYuVscbjD

— Rawlings Baseball (@RawlingsSports) October 15, 2025

Young is developing a reputation as one of the best defensive center fielders in all of baseball, and it is well deserved. He covers so much ground in the outfield and can make hard plays look easy. As most of the great defenders do, Young also has a flair for the dramatic, making some truly spectacular plays.

In 2025, Young made so many highlight reel plays. You can make a whole compilation of them and still have room to spare. From July onwards, it felt like Young was making some sort of crazy play about once a week. From robbing home runs to making acrobatic plays, the Nats center fielder was doing it all.

Jacob Young’s +14 OAA and highlight-reel catches — like that wild bobble off his foot in NYC — put him back in the Gold Glove mix. PCA’s the favorite, but Young’s got a real shot at gold. #Nats pic.twitter.com/A66v8iw8PR

— natsfanatics (@natsfanatics_) October 15, 2025

This season, Young had 14 outs above average, which is actually fewer than the 20 he piled up last year. However, it felt like he made more spectacular plays this year. Last year, Young had the numbers but maybe not the signature moments. That may have been why he lost the award in 2024 despite having more OAA than the winner Brenton Doyle.

Young made an outstanding last impression to voters in September as well. He made a number of crazy catches, but his play against the Mets was my favorite. Young was going for a ball at the wall and he had it in his glove. However, it popped out and he had to improvise. What Young did next was special. He kicked the ball up in the air and right into his glove. I had never seen anything like that before.

JACOB YOUNG?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!pic.twitter.com/44N9NABLiE https://t.co/OlGQob96sf

— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) September 21, 2025

The play helped keep the big money Mets out of the playoffs. However, despite all the crazy plays, he is not the favorite for this award. I would actually be surprised if he won. Pete Crow-Armstrong of the Cubs is one of the rising young stars in the game. He also posted 24 outs above average this season.

With all the media attention PCA gets, as well as those numbers, he is likely to win this award. However, it is cool to see Young get the respect he deserves. There are plenty of holes in his game, but his defense is truly elite.

Watching him go get it in center field is a treat. The jumps are always so good and with his elite speed, he can get to just about any ball. His flair for the dramatic is also a lot of fun to watch. Hopefully Young can win one of these at some point in his career because it is an honor he deserves. The Gold Glove winners are announced on November 2nd.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/mlb...ws-jacob-young-nominated-for-gold-glove-award

 

[Washington Nationals]

Paul Toboni and the Washington Nationals poach Red Sox scouting director Devin Pearson

After a lot of firings, Paul Toboni is now starting to build the Nationals front office in his own vision. He made his first Assistant GM hiring, poaching a big name from his old club, the Red Sox. Paul Toboni is taking Red Sox scouting director Devin Pearson with him, where he will be a big part of the front office.

Another massive loss for the Red Sox front office, with Devin Pearson, Director of Amateur Scouting, leaving for the Nationals. – via @alexspeier.

Both Toboni and Pearson have been such massive parts of the org’s drafting success in recent years.

Very tough to replace… pic.twitter.com/tin9aqfaia

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) October 14, 2025

Like Toboni, Pearson is a young executive who is already making a big mark. At just 31 years old, he is even younger than Toboni. In a lot of ways, Pearson is Toboni’s protege, so bringing him to DC makes a lot of sense.

Toboni and Pearson have a ton of connections, beyond just working together in Boston. Both of them played baseball at Cal Berkeley. They both played around the same time, but missed each other by a year. The two have a long pre-existing relationship though.

Pearson joined the Red Sox organization in 2017, a couple years after Toboni. In Boston, the two worked side by side in the scouting department. When Toboni was the scouting director in Boston, Pearson was an assistant director for him. After Toboni got promoted to AGM, Pearson took his place and continued the great drafting in Boston.

Now Pearson is following Toboni again, this time to DC, where he will be an AGM. Given the duo’s history, this is unsurprising. However, it is interesting that Pearson is taking an assistant GM role, rather than being a GM under Toboni.

There were reports that the Nats were looking for a GM to work under Toboni, who is the President of Baseball Operations. However, at his opening press conference, Toboni was non-committal about the idea. Interestingly, Mike DeBartolo, who was the Nats Interim GM remains in the organization even after the mass firings, but does not have an official role yet.

Could DeBartolo be the GM under Toboni or will he go back to an AGM role, like he had before his stint as Interim GM. We will see, as there is still a lot to figure out in management, but Pearson is a great first hire.

If I had to guess, Pearson would probably be doing a lot of the stuff Toboni did in his AGM role in Boston. Now that Toboni is the head guy, he needs someone else to do the job that he filled in Boston. Clearly he trusts Pearson a lot. Devin Pearson is going to be a big part of this front office in DC.

This is a big time hire for the Nats, and I bet the Red Sox are frustrated by the brain drain in their front office. However, given Pearson’s relationship with Toboni, it would not be great form for the Red Sox to block him from a promotion, so they are not going to do that.

There is still a lot to be decided. No manager has come in yet and neither has a coaching staff. There are still plenty of open front office positions. However, Paul Toboni is bringing a brilliant young mind to DC and one he has a great relationship with. This is a statement first hire for Toboni.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...poach-red-sox-scouting-director-devin-pearson

 

[Washington Nationals]

How the Washington Nationals can improve their bullpen in 2026

As we discussed at length this season, the Washington Nationals bullpen was a disaster. The unit’s 5.59 ERA was the worst in all of baseball by a sizable gap. There are some nice pieces like Jose A. Ferrer, PJ Poulin and Clayton Beeter, but this bullpen is in need of a makeover. Here is what they need to do to make it a successful one.

Last offseason, Mike Rizzo was in a pretty similar position. While the 2024 bullpen was much better than the 2025 unit, Rizzo needed to make a lot of changes. A lot of the key pieces of the bullpen were leaving the team. Rizzo gave himself even more work to do when he traded reliable lefty Robert Garcia to the Rangers for Nathaniel Lowe.

To rebuild the bullpen, Rizzo rolled the dice on a lot of volatile players. Guys like Lucas Sims, Colin Poche and Jorge Lopez had tantalizing upside, but as we found out, the floor was low. Sims had nasty stuff and put together a couple nice years in Cincinnati, but he always had issues throwing strikes. His lack of strike-throwing was ugly and after a disastrous stint, Sims was released in early May.

Colin Poche is another guy who had plenty of success, but he was also destroyed by a lack of strikes. His issues were harder to anticipate, but when the Rays give up on a guy, you have to be wary. Speaking of the Rays, the Nats selected Evan Reifert from them in the Rule 5 draft. Reifert didn’t even make it out of Spring Training due to strike-throwing issues.

Jorge Lopez threw strikes, but was a head case with declining velocity. After Lopez’s dramatic exit from the Mets, there were red flags, but Rizzo chose to ignore them. That came back to haunt him. Poche, Sims and Lopez cost a combined $7 million. The Nats would have been better off setting that money on fire because at least that could keep you warm.

So how do the Nats avoid making the same mistakes this year? With the lack of quality options, the Nats are going to need to use the free agent market to find some arms. What should they be looking for?

Two things that cost them last year was a lack of strike throwing and volatility. They need to find steady, reliable options. There is one guy who is a free agent who might be the steadiest reliever in all of baseball. That would be Tyler Rogers.

Tyler Rogers needs to be a priority for the Mets in the offseason.

pic.twitter.com/bfcVkY77C1

— Mets Batflip (@metsbatflip1) September 27, 2025

In my opinion, Rogers should be the reliever on the expensive side of things the Nationals should sign. He is a durable, productive strike-throwing machine. Since 2021, Rogers has averaged an insane 75 appearances per season and has had an ERA of 2.71 in that time. He has also only walked 1.6 batters per 9 innings in that time despite his insane submarine motion.

This season, he only walked 2.3% of hitters, which ranked in the 100th percentile. While Rogers will be 35 in December, his pitching style should age well. He relies on his extreme deception and command rather than velocity. These submariners can sometimes even pitch into their 40’s. A two or three year deal for Rogers would be good business for the Nats.

Another thing the Nationals need more of in their bullpen is versatility. All of the pitchers Rizzo signed last off-season were one inning guys. If you are watching the playoffs, you would know that the multi-inning reliever is getting increasingly valuable. The Nationals do not really have a pitcher like that, or at least one that is good.

Guys like Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Andry Lara just leaked runs in a long man role once Brad Lord moved to the rotation. If Lord stays in the rotation, they will need a long man. There are two guys who intrigue me for this role, Jakob Junis and Steven Matz.

Jakob Junis this season:

66.2 IP
2.97 ERA
1.23 WHIP
4-1

Should the Guardians bring Junis back next season? #GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/nIZoYv7euI

— SleeperGuardians (@SleeperGuards) October 4, 2025

Jakob Junis is not the biggest name, but he has been a steady relief arm the past three seasons. Each year he has produced a sub-4 ERA and tossed at least 66 innings. He is not the flashiest option, but he gets the job done.

As a former starter, he is capable of going multiple innings, but can also be serviceable as a leverage arm. His main weapons are a wipeout slider to righties and a great changeup to lefties. However, his fastball is not very good so he has to hide it with sequencing.

Junis is not a super high upside arm, but due to his command and secondary pitches, he has a high floor. Right now, that is exactly what the Nats need. Steven Matz is another example of a command first multi-inning relief arm they could look at. He had a very good season and walked less than 4% of hitters. Matz also has plenty of starting experience.

So what are the lessons from this bullpen disaster? For me the biggest lesson is that you need to have a higher floor in the bullpen. Relievers are inherently volatile, but there are still safer ones. After last season, the Nats just need to find a way back to respectability. That would be a step in the right direction.

Getting steady, strike-throwing arms would be a good way to get the bullpen to middle of the pack. That is all I am asking for in 2026. As time goes on and Toboni brings his vision of a player development monster to light, the farm should be churning out arms. For now though, the Nats just need to find guys to raise the floor.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/general/86886/how-washington-nationals-can-improve-bullpen-2026

 

[Washington Nationals]

Nationals Grades: Jose A Ferrer showed promise in what was an uneven season

It was an interesting season for Jose A. Ferrer. On one hand, he showed all of the interesting traits that make him an exciting young reliever. However, 2025 did not prove to be the breakout season many expected from Ferrer. He showed flashes, but was unable to put it all together this year.

#Nationals Jose A. Ferrer, 24, is a slam-dunk breakout candidate.

Both FAs avg. 98 mph w/ above avg. zone rates and has two whiff secondaries.

Stock-slot pronator.

RP so small sample sizes.

Usage changes:
– increase FF/CH v. RHBs
– increase SL v. LHBs

FF whiff v. RHB: pic.twitter.com/a0NbwzgpvL

— Remi Bunikiewicz (@RBunikiewicz) January 6, 2025

When you watch Ferrer pitch, it is easy to get excited. The ball just explodes out of his hand and he throws gas from the left side. His fastball gets into the triple digits and has a ton of movement, even at that high velocity. In fact, Ferrer’s sinker gets 2.7 more inches of tail compared to the average sinker. It is a true bowling ball sinker and he leans on the pitch heavily.

Ferrer throws his sinker, which averages about 98 MPH over 70% of the time. Going into next season, I am interested to see if that usage comes down. At times, Ferrer can be too predictable. Despite having nasty life, batters hit over .300 against Ferrer’s sinker. His sinker is designed to get ground balls and with the Nats poor infield defense, a lot of those ground balls found holes.

It is not like Ferrer does not have good secondary pitches. His changeup is a really good pitch that mirrors the sinker well before falling off the table. The pitch had an excellent 47% whiff rate this season. Look for Ferrer to lean on that pitch more next season, especially to right handed hitters.

The time seems to be now for Jose A. Ferrer (0.2IP 1H 0R 0BB 1K) of the @Nationals. The hard throwing LHP spun a great changeup – winning our RP Pitch of the Day pic.twitter.com/td5BDXJymK

— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) April 7, 2025

Ferrer will also show the occasional slider to left handed hitters. He only threw it 7.5% of the time, but it got elite results. Batters hit just .105 against the pitch and whiffed over half the time. Against lefties, he threw the heater almost 80% of the time. Next season, he should be throwing that slider more to lefties.

Despite these elite tools, Ferrer’s ERA was 4.48 this season. However, his underlying numbers were much better. Ferrer’s FIP was 3.03, his xFIP was 3.09 and his xERA was 3.57. I would expect a positive regression from Ferrer, much like we saw from Robert Garcia in Texas this year. He can fundamentally be the same pitcher as this year and have much better results in 2026.

It is worth noting that Ferrer got off to a very poor start this season. After a May 6th blowup, Ferrer’s ERA was at a sky high 8.05. He looked like another disappointment in a bullpen that was full of them. After that, Ferrer went on a great run until mid-September when he ran out of gas. At one point, he got that ERA under 4 and was a reliable closer for the Nats.

It is no surprise that he ran out of gas. He was used heavily in a Nats bullpen that was light on reliable options. Ferrer made 72 appearances and pitched 76.1 innings this season.

Ferrer compiled 11 saves and 21 holds for the Nats. When he got going, he was a very good reliever for the Nats. He has a rare collection of abilities. Ferrer is elite at generating ground balls, with a 64.3 GB%. However, he also has very good control, walking less than 5% of hitters.

At times, I think Ferrer’s strike-throwing can be slightly detrimental. He is in the zone a lot, but is not necessarily hitting corners. Hitters should not be batting .276 against a guy with his stuff. The control is very good, but I think Ferrer needs to work on his command.

While we did not get a true breakout in 2025, I still have a ton of belief in Ferrer. A 2026 breakout feels very possible. His underlying numbers were very good this year and I think he can make a few tweaks to get even better. If he mixes in more off-speed, I think Ferrer can be lethal.

The sinker is obviously Ferrer’s primary pitch, but he should probably be throwing it closer to 55% of the time rather than 70% of the time. That leaves more room for his changeup and slider which are nasty.

This is an interesting season to grade for Ferrer. He was very promising but did not put it all together. A 4.48 ERA is uninspiring, but it does not tell the whole story. That ERA holds back his grade, but you also have to look at the context. For what it is worth, I think Ferrer’s grade will be a lot higher in 2o26.

Season Grade: B-

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...jose-a-ferrer-showed-promise-in-uneven-season

 

[Washington Nationals]

Paul Toboni using his Boston Red Sox connections as Washington Nationals POBO

For his first couple of hires, Paul Toboni has been leaning on people he knows. His first hire was Devin Pearson, the Red Sox scouting director he had a ton of history with. Now, it was reported that he has brought Red Sox field coordinator Andrew Wright with him. Wright will be part of the front office in DC.

According to multiple major league sources, Red Sox field coordinator Andrew Wright is leaving the team to join the front office of the Nationals. https://t.co/bIY1g4d6ZD

— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) October 17, 2025

Toboni bringing people he knows with him is unsurprising. It is something a lot of people do when they are in this kind of position. You know what you are getting when you hire people you know. Paul Toboni has a big job ahead of him, so he needs people he can rely on. Pearson and Wright will do that.

Andrew Wright has an impressive background, so it is easy to see why Toboni brought him along. As field coordinator, Wright was responsible for setting the standard for player development. He was involved with giving coaches plans they could follow through on.

Interestingly, Wright also has a lot of experience in the Dominican Republic. Before joining the Red Sox, he was the Director of Baseball Operations in the Dominican for the New York Yankees. I wonder if Wright will go back to doing work in the Dominican, or have a role more similar to what he did in Boston.

Andrew Wright also was the head baseball coach at the University of Charleston from 2015 to 2019 before joining the Yankees. He brings a very unique skill set including that he speaks Spanish.

He played collegiately at Concord University from 2000-2002. He went on to get his… https://t.co/3x7LucaTtg

— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) October 17, 2025

Wright is probably not the last Red Sox employee to come to DC. All of this makes me wonder how heavily Toboni will lean on his Boston connections not only for the staff, but also with players. I would not be surprised if he signed a former Red Sox player or two.

A couple interesting, under the radar names for me are Dustin May and Danny Jansen. Both are free agents this winter and were acquired by the Red Sox while Toboni was there. Clearly these are two players people in that organization coveted and would fill needs for the Nats.

We talked about May a little while ago when discussing under the radar free agent starters. The 28 year old has shown nasty stuff, but has never been able to put it together due to injuries and inconsistency. He would be an interesting guy for the Nats to bet on. It would be like what they did with Michael Soroka last offseason, and that experiment ended up being fairly successful.

The other interesting name is Danny Jansen. He was traded to Boston in 2024, but was only there for half a season. We have talked about how dire the Nationals catching situation is. Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams just did not get the job done for the Nats in 2025.

Even if he is not elite, Danny Jansen would be a major upgrade on both of those guys. He is a patient hitter with solid power. That is why he posted a respectable .720 OPS despite a .215 batting average. Jansen walked 12.5% of the time and homered 14 times.

Danny Jansen Is Having A Fantastic Spring

He Doubles Off DJ Herz pic.twitter.com/HtFaA4YxHj

— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) March 13, 2025

Defensively, Jansen is a mixed bag. His framing has not been very good the past couple years. However, with the challenge system, framing will not be quite as important. Jansen also struggles controlling the running game.

However, he might be the best blocking catcher in all of baseball. That is something the Nationals have not had in a long time. In 2024 and 2025, Jansen posted an elite 14 blocks above average. That is a very important skill, especially for a Nats pitching staff that can be wild.

May and Jansen coming to DC is far from a guarantee, but they are worth watching. It is also worth looking at the Red Sox staff for potential managerial candidates. The manager search has been very quiet, but that will not be the case for long. Guys like Ramon Vazquez and Jason Varitek could be guys to watch.

So far, it seems like Paul Toboni is sticking close to his Red Sox roots. This will be a trend worth monitoring in the offseason. Will Toboni continue to lean on his past or does he just want a core group in place before making his next moves?

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...red-sox-connections-washington-nationals-pobo

 

[Washington Nationals]

Nationals Grades: Jake Irvin had a disappointing follow up to a promising 2024 season

The 2025 season was a disaster for Jake Irvin pretty much from start to finish. Really, Irvin has not been the same guy since that insane July 4th start against the Mets in 2024. He showed so much promise in the first half of 2024, but has really pitched his way out of the Nationals plans since then.

Jake Irvin was the worst qualified starter in all of baseball this season. His 5.70 ERA was the worst of all qualified pitchers, just edging out teammate Mitchell Parker. Irvin also allowed the most homers in all of baseball and the third most hits. It was an ugly season, but I want to figure out what happened to the guy who looked like a big piece of the Nats future plans after that electric July 4th start last year.

Jake Irvin's 8th K…and is FIRED Up. pic.twitter.com/I1FtI8SwwI

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 4, 2024

A big component of Irvin’s downfall is his drop in velocity. In the modern MLB, every tick of velocity is so important. Last season, Irvin averaged 93.9 MPH on his 4-seamer and 93.3 MPH on his sinker. Nothing overpowering, but enough to keep hitters honest. Early in 2024, Irvin was averaging over 94 on his 4-seamer, but that velocity dropped half a tick or so as the season went on.

With this in mind, Irvin coming out throwing in the low-90’s during Spring Training made me nervous. It is only Spring Training, but that drop in velo made me nervous heading into the season. That lack of velocity would continue to start the regular season. This season, Irvin averaged 92.4 MPH on his 4-seam and 91.9 MPH on his sinker.

However, Irvin was making it work for the first couple months of the season. At the end of May, his ERA was actually under 4. As we got deeper into the season though, the wheels would really fall off for him. Watching his starts became a chore and his ERA ballooned.

Pretty wild how Jake Irvin from serviceable and a reliable back-end guy in 2024 to potentially playing himself out of the organization in 2025.

Always liked Jake, but it is absolutely miserable watching this version of him every 5th day. Yikes…

— Bennett Lehmann (@DCBerk) September 5, 2025

Irvin was mediocre in the first half, with a 4.58 ERA. The results were not horrible, but he looked unconvincing. A lot of his ERA indicators suggested he was lucky to even have those kinds of numbers. There were red flags everywhere.

Then things truly went off the rails in the second half. Irvin posted a 7.73 ERA in 13 second half starts. You just assumed he would get rocked every time he started and those assumptions were usually right.

This offseason, Irvin is hitting arbitration for the first time. He is projected to make $3.3 million. Based on how he has performed the last 18 months, it is unclear if he is even worth that. Sure, he has logged at least 180 innings the past two seasons, but those innings have been ugly lately.

The MLBTR arb projections are out. The Nationals come in at about $26M (assuming they non-tender Alfaro). My first reaction: I'm not 100% sure they want Jake Irvin at that number. pic.twitter.com/8EXJtsU3sl

— Andrew Flax (@ajflax) October 6, 2025

With Josiah Gray coming back, Jake Bennett marching towards the MLB and potential free agents coming in, does Irvin have a spot on this team? I am not so sure at this point. He turns 29 soon, so there is not much more room for growth. Unless he gets the velocity back, I do not see a path for Irvin to be a viable starter.

It has been a really ugly fall from grace for a guy I really liked last year. To make things even worse, none of the underlying numbers suggest anything will get better. His xERA and FIP were both around his 5.70 ERA.

Paul Toboni has a choice to make here with Irvin. Will he tender the right hander and if he does, how will he use him. Could Irvin throw harder in shorter spurts? I think it is possible because he often starts games throwing 94-96 before throwing in the low 90’s and even upper 80’s as he gets deeper in the game.

This season was an unmitigated disaster for Irvin. He went from a nice piece of the rotation and a fan favorite to a guy who might get non-tendered. Stories like this are why pitchers go to such lengths to add velocity. It makes you a lot better, and Irvin’s fall off is all the evidence you need.

Season Grade: F

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...disappointing-follow-up-promising-2024-season

 

[Washington Nationals]

The Clutchest Washington Nationals of 2025 May Not Be Who You Expect

Everyone knows how bad Nathaniel Lowe’s tenure with the Nationals went, from posting career low marks in nearly every category to being released from the club in August. What many don’t know is that when it mattered the most, Nathaniel Lowe showed up more than almost anyone in 2025, tying with James Wood atop the “Clutch” leaderboards according to Fangraphs, a stat that measures a player’s performance in high leverage situations as compared to their performance in all other times.

In 54 high-leverage at-bats in 2025 (maybe a few with the Red Sox, but mostly with the Nats), Nathaniel Lowe hit .278 and posted a 135 wRC+, numbers much more in line with what Nationals fans expected out of him. Many of those big hits came early on in the season, such as his bases-clearing double in Miami or his go-ahead 3-run shot against the Phillies, both in April. Lowe’s problems arose in all other situations, as in low and medium-leverage at-bats, Lowe posted a 91 and 81 wRC+, respectively.

The difference is even more drastic when comparing his performance with runners on base versus with no one on, as with runners on base, he posted a 131 wRC+ in 245 at-bats, but with no one on, he posted a 56 wRC+ in 295 at-bats. Perhaps there is some explanation, such as Lowe being more locked in when the lights got bright, but the most likely solution is that’s just baseball.

Tied atop the “Clutch” leaderboards with Lowe is James Wood, who also happened to be the Nats’ best hitter period in 2025. While Wood’s numbers were respectable in low-leverage situations, posting a 108 wRC+ in 335 at-bats, he truly turned it on in the clutch, as he posted a 148 wRC+ in medium-leverage at-bats and an astonishing 162 wRC+ in high-leverage at-bats. The difference in Wood’s numbers between low and high leverage at-bats is vast, as he walked 12% more (perhaps due to teams pitching around him), struck out 9% less, and raised his OBP and SLG by over .100 points in high-leverage at-bats as compared to low-leverage ones.

On the other side of the spectrum, the least clutch Nationals offensively was Josh Bell, who performed great in low-leverage at-bats, posting a 121 wRC+, but struggled in all others, posting a 94 wRC+ in medium-leverage and 77 wRC+ in low-leverage at-bats. He slugged close to the same in higher leverage situations, with his slugging percentage dropping, but not drastically, but he struggled to get on base the same, posting a .261 on-base percentage in the clutch, well down from a .334 OBP and .325 OBP in low and medium-leverage at-bats, respectively.

On the pitching side of things, the clutchest National was one Nats fans may not have anticipated, as Jackson Rutledge edges out Cole Henry as the king of clutch for the 2025 Nationals pitching staff. Rutledge got rocked in low and medium-leverage situations in 2025, posting a 5.54 and 5.94 FIP in each, but when the going got tough, Rutledge got going, as in high-leverage situations, he posted a 3.56 FIP and allowed 0 home runs. His walk rate went up and his strikeout rate went down in high-leverage situations, so I wouldn’t expect this clutch factor to carry over to 2026, but it’s interesting to see how a reliever who seemingly struggled most of the year was able to turn it on when the club needed him to.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/general/86919/the-clutchest-nationals-2025-may-not-be-who-expect

 

[Washington Nationals]

Could the Washington Nationals follow the Giants lead and make an outside the box hire

While there has not been much noise about the Washington Nationals managerial hunt, there are hirings being finalized around the league. One of those hirings has me very intrigued and has made me think differently about candidates the Nats could look at. The Giants are closing in on a deal to hire Tony Vitello away from the University of Tennessee.

BREAKING: Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello is closing in on deal to become the manager of the San Francisco Giants, per @TheAthletic pic.twitter.com/MgIgZSPAZj

— SleeperMLB (@SleeperMLB) October 18, 2025

This would be an unprecedented move. No MLB manager has been hired directly from college before without experience in the pro ranks. So this would certainly be an outside the box hire for the Giants. However, Vitello is a winner who turned the Tennessee program from an afterthought to college baseball royalty. In 2024, he won the College World Series.

His charismatic presence and winning has clearly made him a sought after candidate. That got me thinking, could this be the start of a wider trend or is this a one time thing? Could the Nationals get in on this trend and if they do, who should they look for?

Tony Vitello might be exactly what the Giants need pic.twitter.com/HeiZvvLKon

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) October 19, 2025

I will make this clear, it would be a big surprise if the Nats hired someone out of college, but with Vitello breaking the glass ceiling, anything is possible. If the Nationals were to go the college route, there are two outstanding candidates for me.

The first one would be Jay Johnson at LSU. He would be a very exciting appointment because it would reunite him with Dylan Crews. Johnson coached Crews to a National Championship at LSU in 2023. With Crews struggling in the MLB, maybe Johnson could be the guy to help Crews get his swagger back.

While Johnson has no professional experience, he has won everywhere he has been. He won at the University of Nevada before leaving for Arizona. Then he won at Arizona, even taking them to a College World Series before leaving for LSU. Johnson has taken things to the next level in Baton Rouge, winning two championships in four years.

Of course, this would be a risk, and an expensive risk at that. Johnson is the highest paid coach in college baseball, making over $3 million a year. To hire him, you would have to pay a buyout and make him a very rich man in DC. Even when Ted Lerner was running the show, the Nats were hesitant to pay managers, so this may just be a pipe dream.

Another coach in the SEC worth looking at is Wes Johnson at Georgia. Johnson has turned the Bulldogs program around in his two years in Athens. Unlike Vitello and Jay Johnson, he does have MLB experience.

Wes Johnson was actually the pitching coach for the Twins from 2019 to 2022. So Johnson knows the MLB game and has jumped from college to the pros before. He was the pitching coach at Arkansas before going to the Twins.

He seems more realistic than Jay Johnson, who seems pretty entrenched at LSU. I think Wes Johnson would be a solid outside the box candidate for the Nats to look at. He is a proven winner at the college level, a good pitching mind and has experience at the MLB level. Paul Toboni would be smart to give this guy a call. I would not be surprised if Wes Johnson is the next college coach to leave for the MLB.

Another outside the box candidate is Mark DeRosa. He does not come from the college game, but does not have a traditional background either. Of course, DeRosa has become a staple of MLB Network. His breakdowns are some of the best in the game and provide fans with great knowledge from a former player.

However, DeRosa does have some coaching experience. He coached Team USA at the 2023 World Baseball Classic. While they did not win, DeRosa was impressive and conducted himself well. Like Vitello, DeRosa has a natural charisma to him.

He also has a connection to the Nats. DeRosa was on the team in 2012, when the Nationals made the playoffs for the first time. He seems like a future manager, so the Nationals should look at making a swing for him now. The combination of Toboni and DeRosa would be a breath of fresh air in DC.

At the end of the day, the Nationals will probably make a boring hire. Maybe a former manager like David Ross or Brandon Hyde, or potentially a bench coach. However, if the Nats wanted to swing for the fences, there are some options available. It will be interesting to follow this managerial search and see what Paul Toboni decides to do.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/nat...nals-follow-giants-lead-make-outside-box-hire

 

[Washington Nationals]

Washington Nationals legend Max Scherzer gave fans one more iconic moment

Last night, I had the privilege of watching my favorite player ever show he still had greatness in his body at 41 years old. With the Blue Jays needing a win to tie the series in hostile territory, they turned to Max Scherzer. As he did so many times for the Nationals, Mad Max delivered an iconic performance.

Going into the start, I was really worried for Max. He had a brutal finish to the regular season, with an ERA over 10 in September. After all the years of greatness, Max Scherzer, my favorite National of all time, looked like he had nothing more to give.

Most of the time, the storybook ending does not happen. Career’s end on a sad note, and I was worried that would happen with Max. I was praying that Scherzer would not look washed up and that Jays fans can see what Nats fans saw for all of those years. Thankfully, they did get to see Mad Max tonight, rather than a 41 year old man on his last legs.

Scherzer was always super amped up for playoff starts in DC, sometimes too amped up. We saw that in the first inning last night. He threw his hardest pitch since 2023, but his control was not there. Thankfully, he got a double play to get out of it.

I was more worried in that first inning than when he gave up a solo homer in the second. If you have watched Scherzer long enough, you would know that allowing solo homers is just something he does, even when he is pitching well. It was the one crack in his armor.

However, he would always bounce back and that is what he did last night. As the game went on, Scherzer got stronger. He started picking apart the Mariners lineup and looked like the Scherzer of old. His best pitch last night was actually his curveball, which is normally his 4th pitch.

It was a good Scherzer start through four innings, but in the 5th, we saw Mad Max. He was facing the bottom three hitters in the lineup for a second time. With the top of the order coming, Scherzer had a tight leash. After a leadoff single, Scherzer got two straight outs.

Then we saw magic happen. Blue Jays manager John Schneider got the full Mad Max experience when he came out to talk to him. With the top of the order coming up, Schneider went out to chat with Scherzer, but Max was having none of it. He shouted at his manager and told him to get back into the dugout. That moment made me feel like a kid again. Of course, Scherzer would strike out Randy Arozarena right after that to get out of the inning.

Max Scherzer was NOT coming out of this game

Facing his next hitter, he picks up the strikeout to end the 5th! pic.twitter.com/EbVoGMOno8

— MLB (@MLB) October 17, 2025

That competitive fire is what made me love Max Scherzer so much. When I pitched in high school, I wanted to be like Max. That was the kind of competitor I always wanted to be. Seeing him still have that fire after all those years was awesome.

Scherzer had a ton of moments like this in DC. However, this particular outburst reminded me of the one he had in 2019 during the regular season against the Reds. Scherzer saw red the second he saw Davey Martinez come out of the dugout just like he did tonight. Stuff like that is why I love Scherzer so much.

Max Scherzer/Davey Martinez Mound Visit (abbreviated version). pic.twitter.com/O2SZq6kAxL

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 3, 2019

If the Blue Jays end up going to the World Series, their fans will remember that moment for years to come. Seeing their fans fall in love with Max warms my heart. It was also cool to see John Schneider talk about it after the game. He clearly loved the moment and seemed honored to be berated by a legend.

John Schneider on his 5th inning mound visit with Max Scherzer:

“I've been waiting for that moment… It was awesome, I thought he was going to kill me. It was great.” pic.twitter.com/cYrFMDFwpN

— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 17, 2025

However, that moment was not the end of Scherzer’s night. He talked his way into coming out for the 6th inning. After retiring Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez, the Mariners two best hitters, he walked Jorge Polanco. Josh Naylor, who gave Scherzer fits was coming up and the future Hall of Famer was taken out. Reliever Mason Fluharty allowed that runner to score, which hurt Scherzer’s final line and made me upset.

However, the Blue Jays had a comfortable lead at that point, so Scherzer’s win was safe. This was actually Scherzer’s first playoff win since Game 1 of the 2019 World Series, which surprised me. His heroics, combined with the Jays offense tied up the series.

At this point, Scherzer has reached living legend status. He is going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, hopefully wearing a Nationals cap into Cooperstown. Scherzer has nothing to prove, yet pitched like his life depended on it last night. That is just the kind of competitor Mad Max is, even at 41.

It was awesome to see my favorite player get his flowers. He reminded everyone how great he is. That moment with Schneider was also so memorable. The internet had a field day with it and made some very funny posts.

John Schneider trying to take Max Scherzer out of a game pic.twitter.com/ALZZBhGHPi

— Rob Wong (@RobWong34) October 17, 2025

Last night, I was hoping to see Mad Max one more time and he delivered like he almost always does. If Scherzer does not retire, I would love to see him for one last season in DC. He would be such a great mentor to a young roster and would get the fans excited.

Scherzer is the best National of all time. Watching him perform last night was so much fun, but also made me miss the good old days. I love Max Scherzer and will root for him wherever he goes. Hopefully, we can see him take the field in DC again next season. Even at 41 years old, Max Scherzer is a legendary pitcher.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/mlb...s-legend-max-scherzer-gave-fans-iconic-moment

 

[Washington Nationals]

Does Keibert Ruiz have a future with the Washington Nationals?

Of all their young players over the last half decade or so, the Washington Nationals have only extended one of them. That would be catcher Keibert Ruiz, who the Nationals gave an 8-year $50 million deal to before the 2023 season. However, just three years in, that deal looks like an anchor rather than an asset.

Heading into 2026, there are so many questions about Keibert Ruiz. 2025 was a brutal year for him performance wise and health wise. Despite having $37 million on his deal, Ruiz does not look like a starting caliber catcher and there are now questions about whether he will even be able to catch moving forward due to concussions.

Keibert Ruiz’s 2025 started hot — but ended in heartbreak after multiple concussions and offensive struggles. Now, with $37M still owed, big questions loom about his future as the Nats’ catcher. pic.twitter.com/0m7yiShoAr

— natsfanatics (@natsfanatics_) October 18, 2025

Last season was close to a make or break season for Keibert Ruiz, and things broke. However, things looked so promising at the beginning of the year. For the first few weeks of the season things looked so promising. On May 1st his average was actually above .300 and his defense was showing signs of life.

The peak of Ruiz’s season came in March, which is never a good sign. Both of his home runs this season came before April 1st. After that, the Nats catcher was shutout for the season. That is surprising for a guy who had hit double-digit homers in each of the last two seasons.

KEIBERT RUIZ VS. ZACK WHEELER:
Ball
Ball
Ball
Called Strike
Foul
Foul
Foul
Foul
Foul
Foul
Foul
Home Runpic.twitter.com/t5xR5d6335

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 27, 2025

After April, things just got ugly on both sides of the ball. Most fans thought 2024 would be rock bottom for Ruiz’s bat. That .619 OPS seemed like an aberration that was partially due to an illness Ruiz rushed back from.

In 2024 Ruiz actually improved a bit on the defensive side of the ball, even if still wasn’t great. The hope going into 2025 was that we would get the 2023 bat, which was good for a catcher with the serviceable defense of 2024.

However, we ended up getting even worse hitting than 2024. Ruiz posted a dismal .595 OPS on the season and had -1 fWAR. His defense was also closer to the awful levels of 2023 than the passable play he showed in 2024.

As if things could not get any worse, the injury bug hit Ruiz hard this summer. It all started when Josh Bell hit a foul ball into the dugout. The ball hit Ruiz in the head in a freak accident, which caused a concussion. That concussion was on June 23rd. Ruiz came back into the lineup on July 4th.

That was clearly too quick because Ruiz only played two more games before suffering another concussion after taking a foul tip to the mask. These concussions lingered for a while. Ruiz suffered post-concussion syndrome, which left him on the shelf for months. When he was finally ready for a rehab assignment, he had to be shut down again after a few games due to the symptoms coming back.

Ruiz is clearly a guy who wants to play every day. He takes days off as an insult and will never say he is not good to go. Based on how Davey Martinez talked, it seemed like he would always take Ruiz at his word. This led to him being overplayed and wearing down. It also may have led to him returning from injury too quickly.

These concussions can threaten catchers’ careers. Guys like Joe Mauer had to leave catching behind due to those injuries. However, Mauer still hit enough to have value elsewhere on the field. That has not been the case for Ruiz.

Between the injuries and the on field struggles, the Nats are in a tricky spot this offseason. At this point, Ruiz should not be your starting catcher, but you are financially committed to him. There are no elite catchers in free agency, but the Nats should pick up a veteran to start behind the plate. Guys like Danny Jansen, Victor Caratini and JT Realmuto would all be upgrades.

You also need to consider the option of DFA’ing Ruiz and letting him try to find his game in AAA. Ruiz is out of options, so you would need to DFA him if you were to send him down. However, this would not be an unprecedented situation. We have seen guys whose extensions did not work out finish those contracts in the minors. Players like Scott Kingery, Evan White and Rusney Castillo are examples of this.

It may not be time to do that with Ruiz yet, but we are getting there. In each of his three years during the extension, Ruiz has put up negative fWAR. I hate that it has gotten to this point, but it is time for some uncomfortable conversations.

Paul Toboni does not have the kind of attachment to Ruiz that Mike Rizzo did, so it is easier to move on. Before, it was tough to move on from a guy who was the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade that you also gave $50 million to. Now the people that made those decisions are gone and new leadership has a fresh slate.

Ruiz’s contract runs until 2030, and at this rate it does not look like he will be in the MLB for that whole contract. Keibert Ruiz seems like a great guy. The moment where his parents got to see him play was very heartwarming. All the coaches and his teammates seem to really respect him.

At the end of the day though, this is a results based business, and he has not been getting results. Frankly, if he did not have that contract he would probably be a non-tender candidate. However, that contract might give him one more chance to prove himself. After 2025, the Nats are in a rough spot with Keibert Ruiz, a guy they placed so much faith in.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...rt-ruiz-have-future-with-washington-nationals

 

[Washington Nationals]

Former Washington Nationals World Series winner Kurt Suzuki to become Angels manager

So there has been some news regarding the Washington Nationals and a managerial hire. However, it was not the team making a hire. It is a former National becoming a manager elsewhere. Multiple reports have now indicated that former Nat Kurt Suzuki will become the manager of the Los Angeles Angels.

The Los Angeles Angels are hiring Kurt Suzuki as manager, sources tell ESPN. Suzuki, 42, spent 16 years as a major league catcher and has spent the last three seasons as a special assistant to Angels general manager Perry Minasian.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 21, 2025

That is not only a name the Nats can no longer hire, but it is also cool to see a former Nat get a managerial job. This is only the third former Nat to manage in the MLB. The other two are Aaron Boone and Alex Cora. This one is a little bit different though, because Suzuki was a much more memorable Nat than those guys.

Suzuki actually had two stints with the team. The first one came when he was picked up at the 2012 trade deadline from Oakland. He was on the 2012 team and actually was on the 2013 team as well before being traded back to Oakland at the trade deadline.

However, that first stint was mostly a footnote. His second stint was much more memorable. Suzuki was on the team in 2019 and 2020, but the 2019 season is all we really care about here.

Suzuki was in a catching tandem with Yan Gomes. He was the offensive catcher while Gomes was more known for his glove. It was a successful tandem and obviously led to a World Series title.

Suzuki’s most memorable moment as a Nat came in September, when his homer off of Edwin Diaz capped off an insane comeback against the Mets. For me, that was the moment when I truly thought that the 2019 team was special. It was my favorite regular season moment from that season.

Random Nationals Highlight Day #93:

Kurt Suzuki’s Walk Off Homer Caps a 7 Run 9th Inning Comeback to Beat the Mets- 09/03/2019

An offensive eruption in the 9th and a 3 run walk off homer off Edwin Diaz led to the larger comeback in Nationals history.

2019 was so special. pic.twitter.com/8kEdUIfgMe

— Talkin Nats (@TalkinNats) March 25, 2023

Seeing Suzuki as a manager now is going to be weird because that moment still feels like yesterday, but it was over six years ago now. In a strange twist of fate, Suzuki will technically be Anthony Rendon’s manager, though Rendon probably won’t play much, if he even plays.

We have now seen a couple managerial positions get filled in the last couple weeks. The Pirates are sticking with their interim boss Don Kelly and the Rangers are turning to Skip Schumaker. For the Nationals, it has been pretty much radio silence on the managerial hunt.

There are names that make sense that I can speculate about. For example, Brandon Hyde, David Ross and any assistant coach with ties to the Red Sox are names I would watch. However, we have not gotten any real links yet.

In a Google Doc tracking all of the news on the managerial front, there is a lot of blank text next to the Nationals. With a new GM as well, this process will take longer than teams with more settled situations. After all, Paul Toboni has to rebuild the front office as well.

I am sure there is work going on behind the scenes though. There is a decent chance we get more news in the next few days before the World Series. I would expect a hire shortly after the Fall Classic. However, we have nothing yet. Congrats to Kurt Suzuki and I hope he kills it in Anaheim.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/mlb...orld-series-winner-kurt-suzuki-angels-manager

 

[Washington Nationals]

Nationals Grades: Clayton Beeter showed swing and miss stuff after trade deadline arrival

While the Nationals bullpen was disastrous in 2025, Clayton Beeter was a bright spot for the unit down the stretch. After arriving in a deadline deal that sent Amed Rosario to the Bronx, Beeter quickly went from a prospect to a trusted bullpen arm. He brought swing and miss stuff to a bullpen that desperately needed that.

His arrival to the Nats was a funny example of the reality of the deadline. He was pitching for the Yankees AAA team when he got traded. His team was actually playing against the Nats AAA team in Rochester when he was traded. So all Beeter had to do was switch dugouts and jerseys. The next day Beeter was pitching against his old teammates and fired a scoreless inning.

Clayton Beeter switched dugouts last night and pitched a scoreless inning today! pic.twitter.com/xyd5z6yI6s

— Allsports Roc (@AllsportsRoc) July 27, 2025

In his 24 Nationals appearances, we got a good idea of the Clayton Beeter experience. A lot of strikeouts, a lot of walks and not many hits. Watching him struggle to find the strike zone can be frustrating, but he can make up for his mistakes by just overwhelming hitters.

He struck out 38.1% of hitters with the Nats, while walking an alarming 16.7% of batters. Beeter was able to make up for that crazy walk rate by simply not allowing hits. In DC, batters hit just .114 against him. That is a crazy number, and probably not sustainable, even if I think Beeter will keep his batting average against numbers low.

With that in mind, Beeter will need to throw more strikes in 2026. He does not have to be some command specialist, or even an average strike thrower. A realistic goal should be to get that walk rate to around 11 or 12 percent rather than over 16%. He can live in that 12% range and have plenty of success because of how nasty he is.

Beeter had a crazy 14 game run where he was just unbeatable. He did not allow a run in those outings and only surrendered two hits in 13.2 innings. When he was on, Beeter was just blowing guys away with his simple two pitch mix.

Clayton Beeter slams the door for his 1st career save 13.2 straight scoreless, 20 Ks, just 2 hits allowed since joining the Nats. 96+ heat, filthy slider. The kid’s nasty. #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/JtgcqKPGN7

— natsfanatics (@natsfanatics_) September 15, 2025

So how does Beeter blow guys away? Well, he does it with a two pitch mix of a fastball and slider. As many pitchers are adding more pitches, Beeter just throws a 4-seamer and slider. That is all he needs because those two pitches work so well as a tandem. He tunnels them so well, which makes his slider particularly devastating.

The fastball averages 96.5 MPH and gets good carry at the top of the zone. However, the slider is the real star of the show here. He throws it 46% of the time and it is lethal. Batters hit just .098 against the pitch and whiffed over 49% of the time. Beeter got 29 of his 33 strikeouts on the pitch.

His slider is a true bullet slider, meaning it has a lot of vertical drop without moving much horizontally. The pitch just drops off the table. That slider is going to be his money-maker in the big leagues. If he can get ahead of hitters, he has no problem putting them away.

The next step for him will be to get ahead more often. If he can do that, Beeter can be a leverage arm in the Nats bullpen for a long time. However, if that walk rate remains over 15%, Beeter will be a frustrating arm who shows glimpses of dominance, but someone you can never fully trust. I am interested to see what he can do in 2026, because he gave a good first impression, even if the command was spotty.

Season Grade: A-

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...eeter-swing-miss-stuff-trade-deadline-arrival

 

[Washington Nationals]

Washington Nationals slugger James Wood nominated for a Silver Slugger

After Jacob Young was nominated for a Gold Glove a week and a half ago, another Nationals player is being nominated for some hardware. It was announced that James Wood is being nominated for an NL Silver Slugger in the outfield. He is one of six NL outfielders nominated. The three winners will be announced on November 6th.

James Wood has been named an NL Silver Slugger finalist after his first full season in the majors. Award winners will be announced on November 6.

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) October 22, 2025

Despite tailing off in the second half due to swing and miss problems, Wood still put together a very impressive season which is being recognized. The All-Star left fielder hit 31 home runs and posted an .825 OPS in his first full season. He was the first National to hit 30 home runs since 2019.

His batted ball data is also highly impressive. While the Silver Slugger is about production, it is worth noting that Wood had some crazy exit velocity data. His average exit velocity of 94.3 MPH ranked in the 98th percentile, as did his 56.3% hard hit rate. That crazy raw power is why he hit 31 home runs despite not elevating the ball consistently.

ain't gotta knock on pic.twitter.com/br8msmADGk

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 22, 2025

The other contenders for the award are Juan Soto, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Stowers and Kyle Tucker. Soto and Carroll are pretty straight forward choices as they were clearly the two best offensive outfielders in the league. Wood will be in the mix with Stowers and Tucker for that third spot.

Stowers has by far the best rate stats and also hit 25 home runs, but he only played 117 games. Voters may choose to ignore that and choose Stowers due to that .912 OPS. Tucker and Wood are quite close when you compare them. Wood hit for more power, but Tucker’s OPS was slightly higher.

I would be a bit surprised if Wood was one of the three winners, but it also would not be shocking. Even with his impressive power numbers, voters could hold a tough second half and his 221 strikeouts against him. He did not exactly leave a strong final impression for voters, which could sway them.

Even if it is not this year, Wood should win this award at some point in his career. His tools are just ridiculous. He hit some totally insane home runs this year, especially to the opposite field. There are some guys where the ball sounds different off their bat and Wood is one of those guys.

WELCOME TO HOLLY WOOD pic.twitter.com/iBqECOCbbp

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 22, 2025

To be a surefire winner next year, Wood will have to improve a few things. First and foremost, he has to cut down on the swing and miss. He struck out 32.1% of the time for the season and that number was close to 40% in the second half. Cutting out the backwards K’s and being more aggressive in the strike zone would go a long way towards accomplishing this.

The sky is the limit for James Wood. At 23 years old, he is just getting started. Hopefully he can be more consistent next season. If he can do that, he will easily win a Silver Slugger and maybe even push towards an MVP.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...s-slugger-james-wood-nominated-silver-slugger

 

[Washington Nationals]

Trade Rumors around Washington Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore re-emerge

Remember all of those MacKenzie Gore trade rumors at the deadline, well they are back as we approach the offseason. In the last 24 hours, we have gotten even more smoke about the Nationals trading their 26 year old ace. The Nats were close to trading Gore at the deadline, but did not pull the trigger. However, it looks like there is still a good chance Gore is moved.

In a recent live stream, MLB insider Jon Heyman said that he would not be surprised if Gore is traded this offseason and that the Nationals should do it. On the surface, it does not make a ton of sense to trade your up and coming left handed starter, but there is more than what meets the eye.

Per Jon Heyman, MacKenzie Gore “should” be traded this offseason pic.twitter.com/L3Hon7C3UR

— Kev (@klwoodjr) October 23, 2025

MacKenzie Gore becomes a free agent after the 2027 season, which means that he only has two years of team control remaining. This creates a dilemma for Paul Toboni. Does he think that the Nationals can win in those two years with Gore, or would trading him for a prospect laden package be better for the long term outlook of the team. Gore is represented by super agent Scott Boras, and his clients tend to hit the open market, so an extension is unlikely.

Heyman is not the only person to mention Gore as an offseason trade candidate. Jim Bowden put him on his list of 10 players who could be traded this offseason. In his piece, he said it was only a matter of time before Paul Toboni starts shopping Gore.

Top 10 players likely to be traded this offseason according to Jim Bowden

1) Tarik Skubal
2) Freddy Peralta
3) Hunter Greene
4) Jarren Duran
5) Mackenzie Gore
6) Sandy Alcantara
7) Sonny Gray
8) Brandon Lowe
9) Alec Bohm
10) Jo Adell pic.twitter.com/3ac1BlII1B

— AT (@YankeeWRLD) October 23, 2025

Bowden also mentioned the Red Sox as a possible landing spot. They need a number 2 starter behind Garrett Crochet, and Gore has the potential to fit the bill. Coming from Boston, Toboni is also deeply familiar with the Red Sox farm system. He knows which guys are worth targeting, even if they aren’t necessarily the highest rated. Heyman also mentioned the Astros as a fit, but their farm system is quite weak.

With that in mind, what would a Gore package look like? Well, it probably won’t be as strong as it would have been if the Nats moved him at the deadline. For one, you are now getting two playoff runs with Gore instead of three.

Also, Gore struggled tremendously in the second half. He posted a 6.75 ERA after the All-Star break, which continued a trend of Gore falling off after a hot start to the season. Seeing this pattern continue could spook some teams. However, with his strikeout stuff and two years of control, the Nationals should be able to get a top 100 prospect as well as a couple other solid pieces to go along with that.

For the Red Sox, a package consisting of Connelly Early, Luis Perales and Mikey Romero could make some sense. However, Toboni will know the hidden gems of the Boston system better than me.

For the Astros, it is tough to find an inspiring package. Their top two prospects are Brice Matthews and Jacob Melton, neither of whom inspire me much. However, we will see what plays out this offseason.

I am actually curious to see how the league values Gore. At his best, he can be a dominant arm. He led the MLB in strikeouts for the first couple of months. However, he has never been able to put it all together for a full season. Is there a team out there that thinks they can make Gore the ace the Nats have been unable to?

MacKenzie Gore collects his 10th strikeout of the day pic.twitter.com/hVomMMH04I

— MLB (@MLB) August 10, 2025

There is a pretty good chance Gore gets traded this offseason in my opinion. They probably should have done it at the deadline, but not having a full time GM complicated things. The Nats just aren’t ready to compete while Gore is under team control and have virtually no chance of extending him.

It is an admission that the famed Nats rebuild has gone wrong, but it is time to admit that. There is a reason the Nats have cleaned house. The plan was not working and the rebuild had stagnated. Now it is time for the Nats to reboot this rebuild before they have to trade even more young stars.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/nat...-washington-nationals-mackenzie-gore-reemerge