Washington Nationals Summer Check Up

Washington Nationals

41-37 (3^rd in NL East)

Eye Popping Number

165

Since coming to the Washington Nationals before the 2015 season, Max Scherzer was entering the wrong side of 30, and all he’s done is top his year from before. He has topped Clayton Kershaw as the best pitcher in baseball, and he’s well on his way to a third consecutive NL Cy Young award this year. He’s blowing away other pitchers by leading the league with 165 strikeouts on the year. He’s well on pace to set a new career high and topping 300 strikeouts for the first time in his career. Oh, and he’s got a 2.04 ERA, which is ok I guess too.

Biggest Surprise

On May 15^th, the Nationals played the New York Yankees. Nineteen year old, Juan Soto, hit a home run in that game, his 6^th of the year. The funny part? Soto made his MLB debut 5 days later on May 20^th.  The game was suspended and later finished on June 18^th. Soto himself has been a revelation to the Nationals this year. After starting the year in high A in the minors, Soto zoomed through the minors, hitting .369 with 14 home runs over 39 games. It didn’t take him long to adjust to Major League pitching, as he hit a home run in his first start on May 21^st. He’s continued to rack up hits to the tune of a .324 batting average, the highest on the team. His 168 OPS+ is higher than Feddie Freeman and Jose Ramirez.

Player to Watch

Bryce Harper is having a very interesting year. His .219 batting average would suggest that he’s having a rough year. But his 19 home runs and 60 walks give him an .841 on base plus slugging (the average is .723). He continues to put up monster numbers even though he’s not getting singles at the rate that he has been in his career. He is getting shifted at a higherpercentage than any other point of his career, which explains why he isn’t getting as many hits. With the majority of the offense having a down year, the Nationals need Harper to keep getting on base no matter how it is, walks or base hits. From Harper’s perspective, he’s going to get paid this winter by somebody, but if he can get his batting average up to the .250 or .260 mark, there is going to be an even bigger bidding war for him.

What to Watch for at the Deadline

The Nationals haven’t quite gotten off to the start that they thought they would. Sitting in third place in the division, this deep into the season, is a place they haven’t been used to over the past few years. If they’re going to pass the young Braves or Phillies, they have a few holes they need to fill. They have one of the worst bullpens in baseball, even though they have one of the best closers in Sean Doolittle. They already traded for Kelvin Herrera last week from Kansas City, but they still need one or two more pieces. They could try and trade for Blake Treinen (Oakland), after trading him for Doolittle last year. Other targets could be Craig Stammen (San Diego) or Brad Brach (Baltimore). Offensively, they need a catcher and a second baseman. Wilson Ramos (Tampa Bay) was on the Nationals a couple years ago, and now he’s the top catching trade candidates. JT Realmuto (Miami) and AJ Ellis (San Diego) could be other options as well. Starlin Castro (Miami) would be a good fit at second base if Daniel Murphy continues to struggle, and if the Nationals are willing to send prospects within the division.

*All stats as of 6/28 via fangraphs.com and baseball-reference.com