How loaded are the Nationals? Narrowing down the team's pivotal players to "four horsemen" was kind of difficult. Washington's young superstars are obvious, but who else will determine the team's fortunes by his success or failure? It could be seen as an unfortunate or glaring omission that Jayson Werth is not on this list. I mean, just look at the guy. He looks like he should be in any group with "horsemen" in its name. But the Nats' foursome is led by a guy who you could definitely see bleaching his hair, wearing a jeweled robe, holding up four fingers and yelling "WHOO!"
Bryce Harper
Here's the franchise. Harper's ascendance to the major leagues correlates directly with the Nationals' rise to contention in MLB. That's exactly what was expected when Washington made him the No. 1 overall pick in 2010. Two years later, he was with the big league club. Initially, calling him up appeared to be a panic move. Maybe Harper wasn't ready. But right away, he acted like he belonged in the majors all along. The game didn't seem to faze him, and he wasn't looking to blend in.
Harper's aggressiveness has occasionally worked against him. A notable, painful example of that was when he ran face-first into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium last May, jamming his shoulder and cutting his chin. Perhaps it was a reckless play, but it also demonstrated how Harper plays. He attacks without considering the consequences. That drove manager Davey Johnson crazy at times, and will surely challenge his new skipper, Matt Williams. Perhaps he'll dial it down as he gets older. But for now, that mentality is what has him in the majors at 21 years old.
By the way, Harper is only 21 years old. He's only begun to show us what he's capable of doing on a baseball field. He already has 42 home runs in his career, one of the best totals ever for someone his age. Harper is going to get bigger, he's going to get stronger and he's going to learn what he can and can't do, which will make him that much better. He's under club control for four more years. The Nationals may just win a World Series before he comes close to free agency.
Stephen Strasburg
Before there was Harper, there was Strasburg. The right-hander out of San Diego State was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2009. He only pitched 11 games in the minors before getting called up to the majors. The Nationals weren't very good in 2010, losing 93 games. But Strasburg represented the promise of a bright future. Tearing a ligament in his elbow and undergoing Tommy John surgery was obviously a blow and cast some doubt. Yet he was young enough that fulfilling his potential was still entirely possible.
Strasburg may not quite be there yet. At times, he's looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball. Baseball fans will always wonder how far the Nationals may have gone in 2012 had the team not decided to shut him down after reaching 160 innings. Would the Nats have beaten the Cardinals in the NLDS? We'll never know.
The health of Strasburg's right elbow and how the Nationals take care of it is an uncertainty that has lingered ever since. That was certainly the case last year, when forearm tightness became a recurring concern. Though it's probably not fair, such questions will stay with Strasburg until he either gets through a season without any difficulties or just pitches so well that it doesn't matter. Oh, and if the Nationals win a World Series, that would likely ease doubts as well.
Ryan Zimmerman
Is it possible that Harper can be the Nationals' brightest star, yet Zimmerman is the face of the franchise? The Nats third baseman doesn't draw the biggest headlines, the media doesn't follow his every move and he's not featured in national ad campaigns. But Zimmerman was the Nationals' first star player after the team moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C., making it to the majors in 2005, the same year after he was drafted. From the University of Virginia, he was considered something of a local product too. Since then, he's been one of the best at his position in MLB (though he will likely eventually move to first base.)
Zimmerman's defense at third base (post-shoulder surgery throwing issues aside) and penchant for walkoff home runs has permanently endeared him to Nats fans. The six-year, $100 million contract extension he signed in 2012 (and begins this season) will likely keep him in D.C. for the rest of his career. If and when the Nationals win a World Series, many fans and analysts will say they're happiest for Zimmerman. Because he was there from the beginning. Every team has a guy like that, who was there for the losing and stuck around to enjoy the winning. They're the ones fans often love the most.
Jordan Zimmermann
During the past three seasons, has any pitcher been more successful yet drawn less attention from it than Zimmermann? He's not viewed as the Nationals' ace. He may even be perceived as the rotation's No. 3 starter. But the 27-year-old has been one of the best pitchers in the NL since 2011.
Among the league's starting pitchers, Zimmermann ranks seventh with a 10.2 WAR. That's better than Strasburg. That's better than Gio Gonzalez. He doesn't have Strasburg's blazing fastball, nor Gonzalez's knee-buckling curveball. But Zimmermann does have four pitches in his arsenal and throws them all well.
Last season, Zimmermann finished with a 19-9 record and 3.25 ERA. Perhaps most importantly, he led Nationals starting pitchers with 213.1 innings. That was the sixth-highest total among NL starters. Zimmermann is also the first Washington starter to exceed the 200-inning threshold since Livan Hernandez did it in 2011. The Nats smartly signed him to a two-year, $24 million contract in January, buying out his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility. The two sides wanted to agree on a longer-term extension, but settled for the two-year pact. The guess here is that the Nats will keep pursuing that longer deal to keep Zimmerman around for years to come.
