Nationals' Pitching Reevaluated

Thirty games into the 2010 baseball season and the Washington Nationals find themselves above .500. The last time the team was above .500 was five games into the 2008 season when they went 3-2. The recent success of the team has to be credited with the tremendous pitching they have received so far this season. After a slow start, this Nationals' bullpen looks very good.

There are of course a few players struggling early on. One of the team's big signings in the offseason was starter Jason Marquis, who has been nothing short of terrible so far this season. In three starts he has only lasted 8.1 innings and has three losses and a staggering 20.52 ERA. Now he is currently on the disabled list with "floating bodies in the elbow." Three games does not a bust make, but I do not think these are the numbers the team had in mind when they signed him. Ace John Lannan has also struggled somewhat this season with a 6.34 ERA through six starts, posting only two quality starts.

Still, there are several bright spots on this new Nationals' team. Scott Olsen put together an impressive game on Thursday against Atlanta, holding a no-hitter until the eighth inning. Reliever Tyler Clippard has five wins which is currently tied for second in the league, Livan Hernandez has the second best ERA among all starters with a 0.99 trailing only Ubaldo Jimenez who many believe is the leading Cy Young Candidate, and closer Matt Capps has 12 saves which leads all of MLB. And of course, one cannot forget this team still has Stephen Strasburg in the mix. Strasburg made the jump to AAA this week and in his first start allowed one hit in six innings.

No doubt everyone will be keeping an eye on him to see if he continues playing well at the AAA level, but the real question right now is are the Nationals actually poised to challenge for the wild card? It may be too early to start thinking about that, but when the team has lost 100 games the past two seasons, having an above .500 record 30 games in is definitely a hopeful sign that the team is finally turning things around. In order to continue winning, however, the Nationals will need to continue getting strong performances from their surprising bullpen.

Three Games in, How's that Pitching Working?

The Washington Nationals are three games into the 2010 season and managed to pull off one win in a three game series against Philadelphia. In the offseason, the team really focused on pitching as it was their clear weakness. How'd they do? Take a look at the pitching stats through the first three games:

9.00 ERA (15th in NL)
.324 BAA (15th in NL)
2.28 WHIP (16th in NL)

They have one save, but most importantly they have 0 quality starts (six innings pitched in a game by a starter). Those new pitchers? Well starter Jason Marquis after his first game has an ERA of 13.50 and 2 strike outs in 4 innings. He allowed 4 runs off of 8 hits and has a WHIP of 2.75. Matt Capps has the only save but also has a WHIP of 2.50. Tyler Walker has 3 strike outs in two innings pitched which is respectable. Brian Bruney has 3 walks and a WHIP of 2.50 with 2 innings pitched.

Granted, the Nationals are only 3 games into the season so it's not entirely fair to scrutinize these stats, but is this the start you think the team was hoping for? Clearly not. With stats like these there is going to be a lot of pressure to call up pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg who played exceptionally well in spring training. This is going to follow the team all season long. If the team cannot be competitive without consistent pitching, then by not calling him up you risk the entire season. By calling him up too early, you risk his development. Many people thought the Nationals should pass on Strasburg because top draft pitchers always seem to fizzle in the major leagues. While this is certainly no reason to pass on major prospects, what it does show is that teams have to be very careful when developing these players. If the pitching does not get better for the Nationals, they will be faced with a choice: should they write off the 2010 season very early and save Strasburg for 2011 or risk Strasburg's development to try and save a season in which they won't really compete anyway?

Many were very optimistic about the Nationals coming into this season, and while I certainly think they will finish better than they did the last two years, did anyone think they were going to challenge for the division or a wild card spot? The decision to me seems easy. Keep Strasburg in the minors and let him develop into an MLB pitcher. There's no point in bringing him up so the Nationals can still finish with a sub .500 record. The Nationals have certainly improved from last season, but if these first 3 games are any indication, they still don't have the tools to become competitive for a playoff spot. Don't risk the best thing you have just to stop the whining of some impatient fans!