It wasn’t supposed to be like this for the Washington Nationals. Just like 2012, they buzzsawed their way through the NL East. And just like 2012, they suffered an embarrassing series loss in the NLDS. Yeah, some of the names changed (including the manager), but having the same result two years later has to sting.
Preseason Prediction: Once again, the Nats should battle with the Braves for the top spot in the NL East. However, this year, the runner-up should be in good position to nab one of the league’s wild-card spots. With Atlanta losing key pieces in Brian McCann and Tim Hudson, hoping for rebound seasons from B.J. Upton and Dan Uggla, and facing questions about the back end of its starting rotation, Washington looks like even more of a favorite to win the division than last year and figures to be one of the top three teams in the league. (Ian Casselberry, February 13th)
What Went Right: Anthony Rendon had an MVP-caliber season, hitting .287/.351/.473 with 21 homers, 17 stolen bases, and excellent defense at both second and third base. Ian Desmond had his third-straight 20/20 season at shortstop. Jayson Werth had his best season yet as a National, hitting .292/.394/.455 with 16 homers. Denard Span began to put it together after falling apart early in the season, stealing 31 bases while hitting .302. Bryce Harper awoke from an early season, injury-induced slumber to hit 11 homers in 66 second-half games.
Washington’s pitching staff was sublime. Jordan Zimmermann was the ace of the staff, pitching to a 2.66 ERA in 199 2/3 innings while also tossing a no-hitter in the final game of the season. Stephen Strasburg finally put it all together over a full season, tossing 215 innings, striking out 242, and walking just 43. Doug Fister had a 2.41 ERA in 164 innings. Tanner Roark came out of nowhere to pitch to a 2.85 ERA in 198 2/3 innings. Gio Gonzalez was the biggest disappointment, and even he had a 3.57 ERA over 27 starts. The bullpen had highs and lows, but Tyler Clippard was once again excellent (2.18 ERA in 75 games) and Drew Storen rebounded to take his closer’s role back from Rafael Soriano, posting a 1.12 ERA in 56 1/3 innings.
What Went Wrong: Catcher Wilson Ramos was mediocre, hitting .267/.299/.399 with 11 homers in 88 games. Ryan Zimmerman played in just 61 games, and was reduced to a bench player when he finally came off the DL. Harper missed two months thanks to a thumb injury. The bench continued to be putrid, thanks to mediocre to terrible performances from Danny Espinosa (yes, again), Nate Schierholtz, Greg Dobbs, Kevin Frandsen, Scott Hairston, and Nate McLouth. Soriano pitched to a 6.48 ERA in the second half, allowing a ghastly .299/.359/.505 line to opposing hitters. Ross Detwiler was mediocre in a long relief role.
Oh, and the whole “win your division by 17 games and win just one playoff game” thing. Good job, good effort.
Most Surprising Player: I don’t know how fair it is to call Anthony Rendon a surprise, but I don’t think anyone saw him getting this good, this quickly. 2014 was Rendon’s first full year in the majors (after a 98 game stint in 2013), and the 2011 sixth overall pick delivered in spades for Washington. He started the year at second base, and moved across the diamond to third when Ryan Zimmerman went down with both a fractured thumb and later, a strained hamstring. In 153 games, Rendon hit .287/.351/.473, launching 21 homers and stealing 17 bags. He finished the year second among all NL position players in fWAR, behind just reigning MVP Andrew McCutchen. I think everyone expected Rendon to be really good sooner rather than later, but *this* soon? I don’t know about that.
Most Disappointing Player: The good news for the Nationals is that Ryan Zimmerman hit .280/.342/.449 this season. The bad news is that he only homered five times, only played in 61 games, was a defensive liability at third base who has been supplanted by a younger, better player, and is still owed (hold your breath) $76 million over the next five seasons while also having a no trade clause written into his contract. At least Adam LaRoche only has a mutual option for 2015, and not a player option or a guaranteed contract, right?
The Future: I don’t want to say that Washington’s window is closing, but…they’re going to need to make things happen in 2015. The only major players they’ll likely part ways with this winter are Soriano and LaRoche, hot and cold veterans who were getting paid a lot of money. Their entire starting rotation is back in 2015, and aside from LaRoche, the only starting position player that is a free agent is trade deadline acquisition Asdrubal Cabrera. But after 2015, things will get hairy for Washington: Jordan Zimmermann, Fister, Desmond, Clippard, and Span will all be free agents. Strasburg and Storen will follow after the 2016 season. The Nationals won’t need to do a lot to contend in 2015, but they need to make the right moves, or risk getting slammed back to irrelevance in the NL East.
