The Nationals went into last season viewed as a World Series contender. But enough went wrong that the Nats got off to a slow start that could never be overcome. As a result, the team never really came close to fulfilling its lofty expectations. Washington looks like a heavy favorite again this year, but could once again encounter obstacles that prevent them from playing in October. A strong roster with very few apparent holes is in place. The experience of last year's disappointment is fresh for the organization. Yet these three key questions will have to yield positive answers for the Nats to follow through on their promise.
How will Matt Williams perform as a first-year manager?
The biggest question surrounding the Nationals going into the 2014 season is their new manager, Matt Williams. Williams has no prior managerial experience in MLB. His only prior gig as a manager was in the Arizona Fall League in 2012. But Williams does have plenty of major league coaching experience. He was the third base coach with the Diamondbacks for the past four seasons, and formed many ideas of how he would run a team when he got his chance.
One key difference between Williams and former Nats manager Davey Johnson will be how he interacts with the players. As a longtime skipper accustomed to veteran teams, Johnson preferred a more hands-off approach and trusted his players to put in the necessary work to prepare for a ballgame. Coaches and former teammates say Williams makes his expectations clear and expects players to follow through on them.
Owner Mark Lerner said in an interview with 106.7 The Fan in D.C. that last year's spring training "was not as good as it could be," believing camp was less disciplined than it should've been. That shouldn't be a problem this year, as Williams says he has every day of spring training mapped out. Perhaps attention to detail and a less lackadaisical approach will prevent the Nats from getting off to another slow start that took all season to recover from.
Williams also plans to take advantage of the advanced data and metrics increasingly supplied to managers and coaches by the front office. He told reporters that he'll give his staff — especially bench coach Randy Knorr, a holdover from Johnson's regime — all the information they can handle and use that to provide "a road map" for the players to follow. More information and more discipline could be exactly what a still relatively young Nationals team needs from its manager.
Is Stephen Strasburg ready to be the Nationals' ace?
Asking if Strasburg is really the Nats' ace might seem like a silly question. He is clearly Washington's best starting pitcher and one of the top young arms in baseball. But has he really been the Nationals' No. 1 starter during the past two seasons? Has he seized that role and the responsibility that comes with it as aces like Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright have?
Maybe the idea of an "ace" is a somewhat antiquated notion. But has Strasburg really carried himself like a staff leader during the past two seasons? In 2012, Gio Gonzalez was arguably the Nats' top pitcher. Last year, Jordan Zimmermann emerged as the rotation's best pitcher, if not its perceived No. 1 starter. That speaks to Washington's deep starting pitching, but it may also indicate Strasburg's desire to blend in, rather than stand out.
Perhaps that wasn't quite Strasburg's fault in 2012, as the question of shutting Strasburg down once he reached 160 innings hung over him and the team throughout the season. But when the decision was made, Johnson implied that it was a mental consideration as much as a physical one. Strasburg had become distracted by intense media scrutiny surrounding the perceived innings limit. But the underlying message seemed to be that Strasburg needed to tune that stuff out if he wanted to be an elite pitcher.
Last season, oblique and forearm injuries provided another obstacle for Strasburg to battle. Again, the question of whether or not Strasburg's surgically repaired elbow could withstand a heavy workload was raised. How the team handled Strasburg was also scrutinized. In some regards, it was 2012 all over again. Unfortunately, those sorts of uncertainties will plague Strasburg unless he goes through a season relatively pain-free with no physical issues and approaches a 200-inning workload. If that happens, his performance will establish him as an ace.
Will Bryce Harper hit for more power?
When the Nationals called up Bryce Harper from Triple-A Syracuse in early 2012, the decision was at least partially based on the need for some power in the lineup. Michael Morse and Ryan Zimmerman were out with injuries and players like Xavier Nady, Rick Ankiel and Roger Bernardina were manning the outfield.
Harper hadn't shown big power at the Double-A and Triple-A levels, slugging less than .400. But when he was drafted, the expectation was that he would be a slugger in the major leagues. During his only college season, playing in a wood-bat league, Harper slammed 31 homers. In his first season of professional baseball, he hit 14 home runs in Single-A.
In his first two major league seasons, Harper hasn't exactly been a slap hitter. He's hit 42 homers in 257 games, impressive for a player who was 19 years old in his rookie year. Harper still has plenty of growing to do and will likely fill out into the sort of power hitter that the Nationals envisioned. Had he not fought through hip ailments and a knee injury that eventually required surgery, Harper likely would've hit more than 20 homers last season. Maybe he would've hit 25.
Harper could progress toward 25 or 30 home runs this season. It sounds like he has ambitions toward such numbers, considering his stated desire to bulk up during the offseason. Harper told ESPN.com's Anna McDonald that he intended to "get as big as a house," though the idea was to put on enough weight that when he lost pounds during the long season, he could maintain strength.
But bulking up would also indicate that he'd like to hit more power. Harper hasn't slugged .500 in either of his first two seasons. Perhaps he'll never hit for power like Miguel Cabrera or Chris Davis, but both of those players posted slugging percentages over .630 last year. NL home run leader Paul Goldschmidt slugged .552. Naturally, the concern is that adding weight could affect Harper's speed and agility in the outfield and on the basepaths. However, if he can become a 30-homer slugger for the Nats, the team might be fine with that compromise.
