It wasn’t intended this way, but as I decided to break the teams down alphabetically this season, I’ve ended up saving the best for last. That would be the Washington Nationals. I don’t think there’s munch question that the Nats are the favorite to finish the regular season with the most wins in the majors.
The big question for me is whether or not the Nats will be the best team in baseball come October and the playoffs. I’m not nearly as certain on that count as I am concerning the regular season.
The issue for me is the Washington bullpen, which I would deem as a major concern if the playoffs were starting today. I think it’s definitely the potential liability for this entry and I’ll suggest the Nats will need to be on the prowl for a shutdown closer and perhaps even a more reliable setup man at some point this season.
As for the rest, wow, this team is loaded. Aside from being perhaps a little below average at second base, and having durability concerns with Wilson Ramos behind the plate, there’s strength everywhere. Bryce Harper needs to avoid bad slides or costly wall crashes so he can stay on the field. But Harper is the real deal, and if you look at his numbers in the months where he’s been healthy, they’re very impressive. I believe Bryce breaks out this year and has a monster campaign.
Ryan Zimmerman should stay much healthier playing first base. Anthony Rendon will miss a little time to start the year, but he remains a batting title contender. Jayson Werth, whose big contract was much maligned at its inception, has turned out to be almost a bargain. He’s actually become underrated in terms of his overall contributions and there might not be a smarter baserunner in all of baseball. Denard Span is also going to be absent for a bit due to injury, but he’ll return soon enough and will be an asset at the top of the order. Ian Desmond will contribute his typical solid stats across the board.
Of course, the real strength of the Nationals is that starting rotation. This could literally be one of the best 1-5 collections of all time. Think about it. Go Gonzalez, who has one of the best two or three curveballs in the game, is the #5 starter in the Nats rotation. That’s just amazing to me. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister, Gonzalez and if Matt Williams wants to give someone an occasional rest, Tanner Roark as a sixth starter is simply incredible.
That daunting rotation will have some opponents beaten mentally before a first pitch in a series is even thrown. I try to take it easy on the superlatives, but I can’t see how the Nationals don’t win at minimum 90 games and 100+ is not an outlandish thought.
I didn’t play the O/U on this team as they could get into letup mode if the division race is decided by August, which is not a ridiculous thought. The Marlins and Mets might be good enough to hang around, but anything less than an NL East title would be an abject failure for the Nationals. But as good as this team appears to be, I still think they’re going to need a bullpen upgrade or they’ll possibly be vulnerable when the money games take place in October.