Making his major-league debut with much less hype than rotation mate Stephen Strasburg, Brad Peacock went 5 innings, giving up 2 hits and 0 runs while striking out 2 and walking 3. While the K/BB ratio wasn’t stellar, it was a momentous occasion for the 23-year old as he notched his first major-league victory with the help of 3rd inning RBI singles from Mike Morse and Jayson Werth and 4 shutout innings from his bullpen. Mike Pelfrey, with the more impressive start of the night, went 7 while giving up 2 unearned runs on 6 hits while striking out 6 and walking 2, but his offense left 10 men on base as the Nationals beat the Mets 2-0.
While the Nationals are only 70-77, there future is quite bright. Peacock, the subject of Minor-League Tuesday this week, could follow Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman in the rotation along with possible rotation mates Tom Milone, Ross Detwiler, Sammy Solis, AJ Cole, and recent draftees Alex Meyer and Matt Purke. Position-player wise, the Nationals have a strong core with Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman, Wilson Ramos, Mike Morse, Jayson Werth, and Ian Desmond, and they should see Chris Marrero, Steve Lombardozzi, and Derek Norris fill spots just ahead of phenom Bryce Harper and recent draftee Anthony Rendon. That’s an outfield of Morse, Harper, and someone to man center or right, depending on how you view Harper, and an infield of Marrero, Espinosa (who should be at short, in my opinion), Desmond (who could play CF)/Lombardozzi, and Zimmerman with Ramos or Norris behind the plate with the other possibly trade fodder. All of this still leaves Rendon to fill a hole somewhere.
Projecting future performance, of course, is always difficult, and it becomes more difficult when you involve prospects. The Nationals, however, look promising, and as they look ahead, the road may not be as difficult as it seems. Unafraid and actually very willing to spend, the Nationals are likely to add a major free-agent and keep Zimmerman long-term. Among the division rivals, Philadelphia’s window is probably closing in 2014 or earlier, the Mets are in rebuilding mode, and the Marlins may or may not ever become what they could be, leaving the Braves as the only other team destined to be a major competitor for the next 5-8 years.
That, of course, is all in the future and uncertain, but in a very real way, one can see more than a glimmer of hope for the Nationals. It may never materialize, but if there was a team to keep a wary eye on for the future of the NL East, I’d point my Sauron eye toward Washington.
Last Night’s Games
Tonight’s Matchups: Tom Milone will take the hill for the Nationals against Chris Schwinden … Jeremy Hellickson will toe the rubber for the Rays against Kyle Weiland in a key struggle for the AL Wild Card … and Max Scherzer will take on 2011 surprise Brandon McCarthy.
