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Washington Nationals prospect stock reports

2025-08-04T14:00:00-04:00

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

It is time to check in on some of the Washington Nationals most notable prospects and see who is hot and who is not

About once a month, we do a little check in on the Nationals farm system to see who is doing well and who is struggling. That time has come to see how some of the Nats top youngsters did in July. It was a bit of a mixed bag with some standouts, some struggles and one notable injury.

Who Is Hot:

Cristhian Vaquero, OF (A):

The first player we will look at is a guy who was a big name, but lost a lot of his shine. Cristhian Vaquero got a bonus of nearly $5 million all the way back in 2022. He was one of the standouts of that international free agent class and expectations were high.

However, Vaquero had struggled to live up to those expectations. After performing well in the DSL and in Rookie Ball, he really hit a wall in Fredericksburg. He struggled in his first 16 game taste of the level in 2023, which was understandable.

However, he had a brutal run in Low-A last year. He hit .190 with a .594 OPS and struck out over 34% of the time. Repeating the level this year, he had a better but still not great start to this season. However, he has really turned it on lately.

CHRISTMAS CRISTHIAN WALKS IT OFF! pic.twitter.com/YWQawLpIXg
— Fredericksburg Nationals (@FXBGNats) July 27, 2025

In July, he hit .329 with a .914 OPS. Vaquero started to tap into his big raw power, hitting three of his seven homers in July. The tools have always been there for the Cuban outfielder, it has just been about putting it all together.

Is Vaquero just hot or has a switch flipped for the talented youngster? It seems like he has been around for a long time, but Vaquero is still just 20 years old. This has been a slow burn, but we are seeing signs of life from Vaquero, who has a 118 wRC+ this season.

2. Jarlin Susana, RHP (A+):

After missing over 2 months with an elbow sprain, Jarlin Susana is back and looks as electric as ever. The burly right hander has been rehabbing in High-A, slowly building up. He has looked fantastic and has quieted the doubts about his injury. The fastball is still sitting at 100 MPH and his slider is as deadly as ever.

Jarlin Susana made his return to the mound after missing a couple months with a Grade 1 UCL sprain. Threw just two innings (and dealt with rain), but fastball averaged north of 100 MPH in his 34 pitches.

Great to see from the 21-year-old. pic.twitter.com/pHGZnbibSG
— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) July 22, 2025

Each of his three starts have been better and longer than the previous one. His first time out, Susana only went two innings, where he allowed a run while walking two. The next time out, Susana allowed two runs in three innings. However, he was absolutely electric, striking out 8 and walking nobody.

He put it all together in his most recent start, going four scoreless with six strikeouts and no walks. That is now seven straight innings with no walks for him. If he can stay in the zone, the sky is the limit for the final piece of the Juan Soto trade.

With Travis Sykora hurt, Susana is now the best healthy Nats pitching prospect, despite Alex Clemmey giving him a run for his money. With Susana being built up, his next start will likely be in Double-A, where he started the season. He held his own at that level, but had trouble with walks.

Hopefully the big man can stay healthy and stay in the zone. He has done that in his last couple starts. Jarlin Susana is so much fun to watch pitch.

3. Alex Clemmey, LHP (A+)

The Nationals have quite a pretty stacked High-A rotation following the trade deadline, but once Jarlin Susana moved to AA, Alex Clemmey will be the ace of that staff. Clemmey is an interesting prospect because he has such extreme strengths and significant weaknesses.

Despite being such a flawed pitcher, he has put up excellent results in High-A due to his amazing strengths. He has a 2.66 ERA in 81.2 innings with 105 strikeouts. Batters are hitting just .193 against him.

Ranked #5 prospect in the Nationals system by MLB Pipeline,
⁦@ClemmeyAlex⁩ pitched 6.0 innings of 2-hit shutout ball Saturday.

He’s now at 16.2 scoreless innings with 17 Ks and a .109 avg over his last 3 starts. pic.twitter.com/plMrDyoLdb
— TheNatsReport ⚾ (@TheNatsReport) August 3, 2025

He has been particularly excellent in his last 10 starts, where he has a 1.78 ERA in 50.2 innings. However, if you have been following Clemmey long enough, you know walks are a problem and they remain a serious issue.

This season, Clemmey is walking 6.31 batters per nine innings. That is not viable for a starting pitcher and is barely viable for a reliever. Clemmey is just not a natural strike thrower. His funky mechanics make him tough to hit, but it also makes it tough for him to throw strikes.

His stuff and deception should make him at least a reliever, but he needs to find the zone more. If Clemmey can become even a mediocre strike thrower his stock will go through the roof. Even with bad command, he is still doing well.

4. Sam Petersen, OF (A+)

We wrote about Petersen not too long ago, but he has been doing too well to leave off this list. The University of Iowa product is just laying waste to High-A pitching despite playing in a pitcher friendly environment.

.@Petersen11Sam gets the 'Rocks on the board with a solo home run! pic.twitter.com/hhP78Xcbf7
— Wilmington Blue Rocks (@WilmBlueRocks) August 3, 2025

Petersen had an outstanding July in Wilmington, hitting .317 with a 1.046 OPS in 20 games. He hit four homers and had almost as many walks as strikeouts. The 8th round pick has been the best performer of the Nationals 2024 draft class.

Along with his performance, Petersen has some loud tools. He is a power/speed guy who is performing very well. A trip to Double-A should be coming soon. Double-A will be a big test for him and if he performs there, his stock will go through the roof.

Stock Down:

The Top of the 2024 Draft Class

For the stock down portion, it is really just the top three picks in the Nationals 2024 class. Seaver King, Caleb Lomavita and Luke Dickerson have all struggled badly lately. For King and Dickerson, these struggles are extended, while Lomavita just had a down month.

Seaver King

For King, his season has been concerning on many levels. A reach inside the top 10, King is incredibly raw for a college prospect. After an up and down start at High-A, where he was roughly an average hitter for the level, he got called up to AA.

It seemed like a premature call up for a guy who had not mastered the High-A level, where he had a .687 OPS. That has proven to be the case so far. In 189 AA at bats, King has a .228 average and a .584 OPS. Those are really ugly numbers for a top 10 pick.

In July, he hit .221 with a .568 OPS. His sub .300 slugging percentage for the month really stood out to me because King was supposed to have solid power, even if a lot of that power potential was unrealized. Instead, he went a whole month with no homers and just 2 RBI’s.

The problem for King is his approach. He is not walking much at all and hitting the ball on the ground way too much. It has been a really disappointing first full season for King and it has been very worrying.

2. Caleb Lomavita

The Nationals next pick was catcher Caleb Lomavita. His profile is similar to King’s in a lot of ways. He is a great athlete, with big upside but his approach is worrying and he hits a ton of ground balls.

For the first few months, he was pretty performing well in Wilmington. His OPS was hovering around .750, which is good given the offensive environment. However, he struggled in July, posting a .607 OPS.

He only walked twice all month, meaning his OBP was just .269 for the month despite an alright .246 average. Lomavita has power potential, but he has only hit three homers all season. A lot of that is due to his 52% ground ball rate.

For the season, Lomavita has a .700 OPS, which is actually 10% better than league average. However, he is not exactly dominating the level the way a guy like Sam Petersen is. Lomavita is another big project despite being a college player selected inside the top 40 picks.

3. Luke Dickerson

Luke Dickerson had a ton of hype entering the season after signing the largest bonus of any player drafted outside the first round. For a while, he was living up to that hype with a strong start. Dickerson looked like a guy who was ready to be a top 100 prospect. However, that has all come crashing down lately.

After putting up a .523 OPS in June at the Low-A level, things did not get any better in July. He put up a .520 OPS on the month. All of that helium and momentum Dickerson had is now gone. He has a .620 OPS at the Low-A level, which is very disappointing for a guy who the Nationals basically built their 2024 draft class around.

There are some reasons not to give up though. A couple months ago, he got hit in the hand and missed a few games. Since then, he has not looked the same, leading me to wonder if he is playing hurt. Dickerson also takes his walks and does not strike out an egregious amount.

He is also a guy who was a multi-sport athlete in high school who is just now focusing on baseball full time. A positive spin would be that this is a guy playing hurt that has solid underlying data and has more room to grow than his peers. However, the numbers are still concerning.

Big Picture Outlook:

With the draft and deadline wrapped up, a lot has changed in the Nats farm system. There are a lot of new faces and guys to watch. Unfortunately, there has also been plenty of bad news too. With Travis Sykora undergoing Tommy John Surgery and the top of the 2024 class struggling, there is a lot of pressure on this new draft class.

On paper, this 2025 class is much better than the badly struggling ‘24 class. However, we need to see these guys in action. Of the tops guys, only Ethan Petry is likely to play this season, as the rest are high schoolers.

Despite some of the struggles at the top of the system, there have been some fun guys balling out. The re-emergence of Vaquero is a fun storyline, as is the rise of Sam Petersen. Hopefully the farm can finish the year strong and this 2025 class can help make the Washington Nationals farm system one of the better ones in the game next year.

Can Dylan Crews give the Washington Nationals a spark?

2025-08-04T10:20:05-04:00

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Dylan Crews had a huge game last night on his rehab assignment. The Nationals can really use his energy

Yesterday was not a very fun day to be a Nationals fan. The team just wrapped up a humiliating home series against the Brewers. There has been a serious lack of energy for a while. However, a solution to that problem is starting to heat up in his rehab assignment. Dylan Crews had a massive day yesterday.

Dylan Crews hits a three-run homer. He’s 2-for-4 tonight also with a double. pic.twitter.com/rQWOpL9Ye8
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) August 3, 2025

After missing more than 2 months with an oblique injury, Crews is almost ready to make his return. He has now played five games for Rochester, though he has not completed the games because the Nats are playing it safe. Playing a couple complete games should be the last step before Crews comes back.

These last couple months are a big opportunity for Crews. He has faced a real learning curve adjusting to big league pitching and a hot finish to the season would be real positive news for Nats fans.

Crews’ injury actually came at a very unfortunate time because he finally looked like he was figuring it out. In his last seven games, Crews had a .994 OPS. He actually had a solid run after a brutal start to the season. In his last 30 games, Crews had a .775 OPS. With his defense and athleticism, Crews would be a highly impactful player if he could sustain a .775 OPS for a full season.

If you look at Crews’ underlying data, it shows that he got quite unlucky to start the season. His xwOBA of .343 was actually above average and was way better than his .275 wOBA. Sure, there are some warts in his offensive profile. Crews was whiffing too much, hitting the ball on the ground more than you would like and not pulling it enough, but he was still hitting the ball very hard. He was also improving on those weaknesses as the season progressed.

However, Crews’ demeanor and hard nosed style of play could have an even bigger impact than his offensive production. Since Crews left the lineup, you can see how much they miss his energy. He is one of the few guys on the team that really does the little things well.

Obviously Crews is not the only reason for this, but when he left the lineup, the Nats were 22-27, since he has been gone, the Nats are 22-40. Even if he was not hitting like we wanted him too, Dylan Crews was providing a ton of value to the Nationals.

One thing I like about Crews is that he is a winner through and through. A lot of these guys who are drafted out of high school are not used to playing in meaningful games. Crews was the face of a highly competitive LSU program for years. Winning is the expectation for Dylan Crews.

I am really excited for him to get back into the fold. Hopefully we can see that offense become more consistent while he brings that much needed juice. The Washington Nationals and their fans desperately need bright spots the rest of this season. Dylan Crews can be that bright spot we are looking for.

The Washington Nationals need to find something to fight for the rest of this season

2025-08-03T17:30:19-04:00

Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Miguel Cairo and the Washington Nationals players need to figure out how not to get embarrassed like they did this weekend against the Brewers

The Washington Nationals got humiliated in front of their home fans for three straight days. That is the only way to put it. There are a number of ugly stats going around that we will dive in to. Above all else, the people in the Nationals clubhouse need to come together and ask themselves what they can do each day to avoid weekends like this the rest of the way.

At this point, we all know that the last two months of this season are going to be ugly. This team just does not have the horses to compete night in and night out. They also do not have the basic fundamentals most other teams do. However, these are still professionals and there is enough talent in that room to make sure they don’t get humiliated on a daily basis.

Miguel Cairo and the leaders on this team, if they have any, need to take this day off and figure out what they need to do to fight back. Right now, there is just not enough push back from this team. As a fan, it is difficult to watch this brand of baseball day after day. This team just sucks the life out of the fans every day.

Ugly Stats:

This series produced a lot of stats to forget. However, it only feels right to show some of them just to display how one sided this series was. The pitching staff was just totally shelled this weekend. Across the three games, they allowed 56 hits, the most in Nats history, and the most by any team since 2019.

This is the first time in Nationals history they’ve given up 56 hits in a three-game span, per Stathead. It’s the first time any team has done it since 2019.
— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) August 3, 2025

It has been mind blowing to see how much this staff has been hit around. Both the starters and relievers have become wildly hittable. With the pitching being this bad, the team is out of the game in the first couple innings. When you allow 54 runs in five games, there is just no way to win.

The #Nationals have allowed 54 runs in their last 5 games. While there is still some baseball left to be played today, it is currently tied for the most runs allowed by the team in a 5-game span since they relocated. The other incident? July of 2021 before the teardown. pic.twitter.com/48NPdlVEng
— Ryan Shenker (@RyanShenker) August 3, 2025

However, it is not just the pitching that is struggling. The offense has also been inconsistent. There are some nights where they show up, but too often they struggle to get anything going.

A lot of that comes from the total lack of production from the team’s star James Wood. Since July 3rd, Wood has a .119 average with 41 strikeouts in 84 at bats. Unfortunately, it looks like the 22 year old is just being swallowed up right now. He is being overwhelmed at bat after at bat.

While the rational side of me says that Wood will be ok, it is getting harder and harder to watch this and keep the faith. Wood needs some sort of reset, whether that is an IL stint or something. Seeing a player you have so much invested in look this bad is tough to watch.

James Wood since his 5-hit game on July 3 (22 games):

10-for-84 (.119 AVG)
1 HR
41 strikeouts
12 multi-strikeout games
8 3-strikeout games

Man. pic.twitter.com/JIJFChccpg
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 3, 2025

What Is Next:

With this grim series wrapped up, the Nationals are getting a much needed day off. They need to be productive in that off day. The veterans on the team need to get this group together and discuss how this team can make these last couple months as productive as they can be.

This whole season has been a wake up call for everybody in the organization. From the players to the fans to the front office to ownership. It has showed us that there is no quick fix here and big changes need to be made.

We know this coaching staff is as good as gone, but what happens to the rest of the organization? So much of it has been left to rot under the Lerner’s leadership in recent years. While the Lerner family made the first step of firing Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez, this run is showing us how much needs to be done.

Nationals fans have questions about this ownership group. Can the Lerner family lead a full scale reboot of this organization and do they even have the desire to do that? What happens this offseason is going to determine the direction of this franchise for years to come.

It is not even all about spending money on big ticket free agents anymore. There needs to be a total cultural overhaul here. When you see this little push back, you know something is deeply wrong. The Washington Nationals are a team that has limited talent but also gets out executed most nights.

The Milwaukee Brewers are really everything the Nationals should strive to be in a lot of ways. They simply play a better brand of baseball. How many times did they tag up or go first to third on a single? It was constant and so much of that is down to coaching.

The Brewers are a well oiled machine. That is why they are 67-44 with a below average payroll. They punish teams who play bad baseball and that is why they had a field day here in DC.

Nationals fans have gotten a real reality check this year. It is time to get back to the basics and try to become a smart baseball team again. The Washington Nationals need to become a lot more like the Milwaukee Brewers and learn to win on the margins.

Washington Nationals vs Milwaukee Brewers Game Thread

2025-08-03T13:00:00-04:00

Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Follow along as the Nationals look to avoid the sweep against the Brewers

The pitching has not been there for the Nats in the first two games of this series. Now they turn to their hottest pitcher, Brad Lord as the Nationals look to avoid the sweep. On the other side, the Nats have caught a break as rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski will miss his scheduled start due to injury.

There are some tweaks to the lineup today. Nathaniel Lowe will get a rare off day, as Josh Bell will take his spot at first base. That slides James Wood to the DH spot. The outfield will be Daylen Lile, Jacob Young and Robert Hassell III. Jose Tena will get his first start since coming back from AAA. Drew Millas will be behind the plate catching the red hot Brad Lord.

one hundred eleven. pic.twitter.com/3REdwqo7zC
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 3, 2025

While the man they call the Miz won’t start on the mound, his replacement, Logan Henderson is no slouch. Despite being very good in the big leagues, he is an up and down arm due to the Brewers embarrassment of riches. While the Brewers lineup is light on established names outside of Christian Yelich, we have seen how dangerous their bats can be.

Logan's back in the Bigs

: @FanDuelSN_WI
: @620wtmj #ThisIsMyCrew x @nicoletlaw pic.twitter.com/UQxsaDV645
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 3, 2025

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 1:35 PM EST

TV: MASN

Radio: 106.7 The Fan and DC 87.7

The Brewers have had the Nats number this year and today is their last chance to get a win over the Brew Crew. It is impressive how the Brewers can win so many games without having the kind of name brands other contenders have. Follow the game down below in the comments and let’s go Nats!

How Washington Nationals’ Brad Lord Is Mastering Getting Outs Without Overwhelming Strikeout Stuff

2025-08-03T09:40:00-04:00

Brad Lord doesn’t overwhelm hitters with his stuff, but he’s figured out all the ingredients to get outs just the same

Brad Lord has been one of the few pleasant surprises for the Washington Nationals in 2025. An 18th round pick from South Florida in the 2022 MLB Draft, Lord put his name on the map by simply just performing at every level he was at, jumping from High A to Triple A with a 2.43 ERA in 129 ²⁄₃ innings pitched. He was considered a long shot to make the big league club out of spring training in 2025, but once again, just performed so well that he forced the clubs hand, earning a spot in the Nats bullpen.

Lord was considered by many mainly a feel good story, a Home Depot employee in the winter who earned a backend of the bullpen spot in the bigs, but has proven he not only belongs, but that he is a difference maker. Whatever the Nationals have asked of Lord in 2025, he’s done, and done admirably, whether that be relief work, spot starts, or a full time rotation gig like he has now. In 74 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched this season, he has a 3.27 ERA and 1.2 fWAR, with solid underlying numbers to back it up as well.

So how does Lord, a righty without overpowering stuff and strikeout numbers, operate so effectively? He does so by doing the 3 most important things for non-strikeout pitchers; he avoids barrels, he doesn’t walk a lot of hitters, and he keeps the ball on the ground. Lord’s 4.6% barrel rate is in the 96th percentile for all pitchers in baseball. His 83rd percentile average exit velocity means he is one of the very best at avoiding damage, forcing hitters to beat him by drawing walks or battling until they get a mistake pitch.

As for the walks, Lord is no Greg Maddux, but he certainly isn’t allowing everyone on base, with his 7.9% walk rate ranking in the 54th percentile. It will be interesting to watch how this number changes as he spends more time as a starter, where he needs to rely on 3-4 pitches rather than 1-2 out of the pen, but so far in his 2 starts back in the rotation, he’s allowed just 1 walk in 9 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched.

When Lord does get hit hard, he excels at keeping it on the ground, as his 49.8% ground ball rate ranks in the 82nd percentile. His does this with his sinker, which gets an impressive average of 26 inches of vertical drop, and by keeping it down in the zone at all times, causing hitters to get on top of it and drive it into the ground.

While Lord’s sinker is an effective ground ball pitch, and his slider is his best swing and miss pitch, it’s his fastball that is his bread and butter. While its velocity is solid, sitting around 95 MPH, it’s the break it features that makes it such an impressive pitch. Out of every MLB pitcher in 2025 to face at least 300 batters, no one gets more arm side run on their fastball than Brad Lord, averaging 15.4 inches of horizontal break, over 5 inches more than the average for righties with similar arm slots.

One heater in particular from Lord’s first big league start, pictured below, caught my attention, a called strike 96.5 MPH fastball to Mookie Betts that rose over 12 inches and ran inside over 20 inches. There are very few fastballs in baseball that can move like Lord’s does, and it’s why he’s been able to get outs for the Nats all year.

This fastball from Brad Lord had over a foot of “rise” and 20 inches of arm side run, and it’s why he’s been one of the most effective pitchers for the Nationals in 2025 (article coming soon ) pic.twitter.com/oTQFJS2e5l
— Paul Cubbage (@PaulCubbage23) August 2, 2025

So what’s next for Lord in his development into a big league starting pitcher? I believe the next step for him should be the development of a third plus pitch, one specifically designed to better get left handed hitters out. Currently, he’s effective against both sides, but better against righties, with righties having a .602 OPS against him and lefties a .695 OPS. This could mean the refinement of his changeup, which he throws just 11.2% of the time currently, but I’d love to see him add a cutter to his arsenal that flashes similar speed but completely different break than his heater currently does. The more solid pitches Lord can add to his arsenal, the more difficult it becomes to time him up and hit him.

Lord is still transitioning back to being a full time starter for the Nats, and I will be interested to see how his stuff plays as he is forced to use more of his arsenal, but so far, I’ve been very impressed from what I’ve seen out of him, and think there’s room for even more growth.

Washington Nationals vs Milwaukee Brewers Game Thread

2025-08-02T15:30:00-04:00

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Follow along as the Nationals look to bounce back from a crushing loss last night

Last night was not a banner night for the Washington Nationals pitching staff. However, the great thing about baseball is that you have a chance to redeem yourself the next day. The Nats will try to do that this afternoon against a surging Brewers team.

Despite Jacob Young having a bobblehead today, he will not be in the lineup. Robert Hassell III will take his place batting 9th and playing centerfield. Josh Bell will return to his DH duties after getting the night off last night. Otherwise, it will be a similar offense to the one that put up nine runs last night. Jake Irvin will take the mound.

one hundred and ten. pic.twitter.com/VVNztTSet9
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 2, 2025

With a righty on the mound, the Brewers will make a few changes. Sal Frelick will lead off and play right field. The late blooming Isaac Collins will play in left and Brice Turang will get the start at second. Anthony Seigler and Joey Ortiz will also be in the lineup. The Nats will get their second look at Brandon Woodruff this season.

Get your pocket pancakes ready

: @FanDuelSN_WI
: @620wtmj #ThisIsMyCrew x @nicoletlaw pic.twitter.com/xsSVXMGvgi
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) August 2, 2025

Game Info:

Stadium: Nationals Park

Time: 4:05 PM EST

TV: MASN

Radio: 106.7 The Fan and DC 87.7

After a good run, the Nats have now lost three straight. Today is a good opportunity to right the ship and get back on track. It will be a tall task against the Brew Crew, but no team is unbeatable. Feel free to share your thoughts on all things Nationals baseball down below.

The Washington Nationals have a pitch usage problem

2025-08-02T13:35:20-04:00

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Washington Nationals pitchers are throwing their bad fastballs way too much

The Washington Nationals achilles heel this season has been their pitching staff. While the offense has been maddeningly inconsistent, as a whole, the unit has actually improved from last year. The team OPS is up from .684 to .700, mainly due to an increase in the teams power production. However, they have been let down by their pitching staff. The pitching staff is both low on talent and using bad strategies.

The Results Are Ugly:

Before we dive into some of the nitty gritty stuff, we need to go over the results, and they are ugly. On the season, Washington Nationals pitchers have a 5.22 ERA. That is the second worst mark in all of baseball, only behind the Rockies, who are both historically bad and play at altitude.

The worst offenders have been the relief pitchers. As most Nationals fans are aware, the team has the worst bullpen in all of baseball. The teams 5.72 bullpen ERA is by far the worst in baseball. The next worst bullpen is the A’s, who have a 5.27 ERA. They also have the second fewest strikeouts of any bullpen, showing a lack of swing and miss stuff.

The pitching staff is a brutal combination of wild and hittable. They have allowed the second most hits and have hit the most batters in all of baseball. It has been really ugly, and a bit unexpected after last season.

Last year, the pitching staff was the best part of the team. Their 4.30 team ERA was not anything to write home about, but it was solid. Guys like Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker looked like reliable home grown starters who could give the Nats reliable innings.

However, we have seen some heavy regression from the starting rotation as well. Some of the flaws in guys like Irvin and Parker have been exposed. With that, the Nats do not have a reliable starter behind MacKenzie Gore, who has been struggling lately himself. Now we will dive into some of the bigger picture flaws.

Too Many Fastballs:

Simply put, the Nationals are throwing too many fastballs. If you combine four-seamers and sinkers, no team throws more fastballs than the Washington Nationals. The Nats are throwing fastballs 56.4% while being bottom 10 in fastball velocity. Here is an interesting article from earlier in the season about this.

The Mariners are the team that throws the second most fastballs, but their heaters have the second hardest average velocity in baseball. They are pounding fastballs, but they are doing it because their pitchers have good fastballs. The Mariners pitchers are doing a good job mixing up four-seamers and sinkers, while the Nats are more four-seam heavy.

For example, Mitchell Parker does not have a good enough four-seam fastball to be throwing it over 55% of the time. It only gets a 10.3% whiff rate and batters are hitting .271 against the pitch. Yet Parker is just pumping that four-seamer in the zone constantly.

Jake Irvin is another guy who is just pounding fastballs in the zone. Despite losing over a tick of velocity, he is still throwing fastballs over 50% of the time. This is just not smart pitching strategy from Jim Hickey and Sean Doolittle.

Some guys should be pounding fastballs, but not guys like Irvin and Parker. They are finesse pitchers who do not have overpowering velocity. Guys like Brad Lord and Jose A Ferrer throw a lot of fastballs, but they have good fastballs.

For Lord to reach his ceiling, he will need a more reliable secondary pitch, but for now he does not have one. That means he has to lean on his plus fastball, which he throws over 70% of the time. The raw fastball usage is a problem, but it is not the only one when it comes to pitch usage.

Not Enough Sliders:

In recent years, sliders have become the breaking ball of choice for most pitchers. They are used way more than curveballs by most teams. However, the Nationals remain curveball heavy and slider light.

The Nationals rank 25th in slider usage while being 6th in curveball usage. This is just another sign of the Nationals being behind the times. Sliders tend to be preferred to curveballs because they have harder, later break. They are tougher to see out of the hand.

However, guys like Irvin and Parker are throwing big, loopy curveballs that get crushed because they are easier to see out of the hand. Bumping up slider usage would be very helpful for both of those guys.

It is not a coincidence that MacKenzie Gore had his worst month of the season when he threw the fewest amount of sliders and second most four-seam fastballs. That slider was an overwhelming weapon for Gore against left handed pitching early in the season, but he has been getting away from it lately.

Another big problem is the lack of bite on these breaking pitches. In April, Gore’s curveball averaged 82 MPH and was getting a ton of whiffs. However, that velocity on the hook has fallen to 80.7 MPH and the whiffs are way down.

That lack of bite on Nats breaking pitches can be measured in the numbers. Nats sliders are the second slowest in all of baseball. That gives hitters more time to react and identify that spin.

An Overhaul Is Needed:

So why is all of this happening? Are the Nationals actively telling their pitchers to be fastball heavy? Well, looking at the data, it sure seems that way. This looks like a pitching strategy that Sean Doolittle and Jim Hickey want to implement.

Assuming that is the case, it is yet another example of bad coaching letting this team down. Most modern organizations are trying to limit fastball use, but the Nationals are throwing more than ever.

It is unclear why they slider usage and velocity is so low as well. Do the pitchers just have a hard time throwing sliders or are they be coached out of throwing them? With all the data out there, it is easier to teach guys new pitches than ever before. Pitchers go to labs to tweak their mix and add filthy new sliders all the time. We saw that with MacKenzie Gore this season. However, not enough of these guys are optimizing their pitch usage.

This is yet another reason why we need a full scale cleaning of the house. There are so many examples of this coaching staff just not being good at their jobs. This is just another case of that. The Washington Nationals need to catch up to the modern times when it comes to pitch usage.

Did the Washington Nationals miss the perfect opportunity to trade MacKenzie Gore?

2025-08-02T10:20:01-04:00

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Mike DeBartolo and the Washington Nationals brass decided to hold on to MacKenzie Gore. This could be a big mistake

The biggest move the Nationals made at this Trade Deadline was actually their decision to hold on to MacKenzie Gore. He was the biggest trade chip the Nationals could have reasonably moved. Gore is a very talented pitcher, but he is not without his flaws and only has two years of control after this year.

While Gore’s summer troubles did not come until July this year, they did end up rearing their ugly head. After putting up an All-Star level 3.02 ERA in the first half, Gore has had three ugly starts since. He has allowed 15 runs in 12.2 ugly innings in his last three starts. That has ballooned his season ERA to 3.80.

With that in mind, it is a risk to hold on to Gore. If we see further regression, his value could crater as he both loses his shine and inches closer to free agency. As a Boras client, an extension with Gore feels highly unlikely, so capitalizing on his value would have been a sound decision.

However, it always takes two to tango. If the offers were not good enough, holding on to him is understandable. Mike DeBartolo clearly felt that the offers were not good enough and he said as much in his presser.

Here's what interim GM Mike DeBartolo said about the decision to not trade MacKenzie Gore: pic.twitter.com/2PGzgv7pZW
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) July 31, 2025

However, as a GM, it is your job not to overvalue your own players and reject offers that would help your team. We do not know what was out there, so who knows if that happened here. Gore’s value is not going to get a whole lot higher than this though. Up until the last three starts, he was one of the best pitchers in the National League and he was under team control for three potential playoff runs.

Even if you trade him in the offseason, that is one less playoff run for a potential suitor. Those three playoff runs made him so valuable on the market. There is reason to believe that the Nats were not the only team with controllable starters that were not getting the offers they were looking for. Guys like Sandy Alcantara, Joe Ryan and Edward Cabrera all ended up staying put.

However, we do know there was heavy interest in Gore. The Cubs made a very public run at Gore, but they ended up not putting enough chips on the table to get that big starter they wanted. Interestingly, there was reporting that the Padres made a run at Gore.

Interestingly, the Padres also made a real run at former Padre Mackenzie Gore, part of the Nats’ alltime package for Juan Soto. Not sure anyone came close on the All-Star lefty but the Pads were the maybe the most aggressive pursuer.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 1, 2025

Assuming the package that the Padres ended up dishing out for Mason Miller was not on the table, I am fine with not sending Gore to San Diego. Outside of Leo De Vries, who was sent to the A’s, there is just not a real headlining prospect in that system. It is crazy how aggressive AJ Preller is though.

I am really curious to see if the Cubs offer ever comes out. There was reporting that the Nats wanted third baseman Matt Shaw. If the Nats were unwilling to do a deal that did not include Shaw, that would be an example of Mike DeBartolo over playing his hand.

The Cubs have a lot of young talent that is close to the big leagues. Two of Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, Jefferson Rojas and Jaxon Wiggins would have been intriguing to say the least. The Cubs also have interesting guys deeper in their system that would entice me as well.

At the end of the day, we probably won’t ever know the full offer, but I really hope the Nats did not overplay their hand. If the Nationals hold on to Gore while not committing to real improvement in the next couple years, that would be a massive blunder.

With Gore still around, the Nats need to commit to this core with real spending in the offseason. While it would be unreasonable to expect playoffs next year, if Gore is still around, this team needs to make big strides.

This 2025 season has been an unmitigated disaster. It has exposed how shallow this roster really is. Trading MacKenzie Gore could have helped the Nats build a deeper roster for the future. However, if the offers were not there, you cannot trade a guy for MacKenzie Gore just for the sake of it.