Re: The District: The Washington Nationals (MLB The Show 15)
Nats prepare to bury the Marlins Reigning NL East champs welcome Miami to DC
August 28, 2015
WASHINGTON - A month ago, the Nationals sent Max Scherzer, David Price, and Stephen Strasburg to the mound for a three-game set in Miami against the feisty Marlins. The Nationals lost all three games, and saw their lead in the NL East suddenly reduced to a meager game and a half. It seemed like it was game on.
Since losing 5-3 to the Marlins on July 30, the day before the trade deadline and the arrival of Jean Segura, Prince Fielder, and Ben Revere in Washington, the Nationals have gone 20-5 and left the second place Marlins eating their dust. The Nats now stand 10 and a half games ahead in the NL East, poised to win their second straight division title and 3rd in four years. Furthermore, at 79-48, the Nationals lead the Cardinals (74-53) by five games for the best record in the National League, and thus hold the inside track to homefield throughout the NL playoffs - a fearsome specter for opponents, as the Nats are 43-18 at home this season (compared to just 36-30 away from home).
As the Nationals prepare to welcome Miami to Nationals Park tonight, with the intent on burying them for good and wrapping up the NL East headed into the season's final month, Washington has rounded into baseball's best team in 2015. The Nationals lead are second in baseball in runs scored (550), and first in runs allowed (354). The Nationals lead baseball in triples (37), stolen bases (134), slugging percentage (.422), fewest hits allowed (845), fewest home runs allowed (82), fewest walks given up (273), strikeouts by pitchers (1384), and team ERA (2.56). Max Scherzer is poised to become MLB's first 300-strikeout pitcher in almost a dozen years. Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg are 1-2 in the NL in strikeouts, but Scherzer is miles ahead with a staggering 294 - 63 ahead of second place Strasburg. The last pitcher to throw 300 strikeouts in a season was Randy Johnson in 2004 with the Diamondbacks. Scherzer also leads the league in wins (17), shutouts (6), and WHIP (0.85). He trails Clayton Kershaw in innings pitched (198.2 to 192.2), and his 1.92 ERA is second only to Kershaw's 1.68.
At the plate, Bryce Harper has emerged into the superstar everyone expected him to be. Harper's .302 average is good for 7th in the NL; his 133 hits rank 9th (Denard Span is 2nd with 144, trailing St. Louis's Matt Carpenter by two); Harper's 35 doubles lead the NL; his power was slow to arrive in 2015, but his 22 home runs (tied for a career high) are tied for 9th in the league, and his 98 RBIs are leading the NL (teammate Anthony Rendon's 87 rank 2nd), and only Miguel Cabrera (100) has more in the AL. Harper has scored 72 runs, good for 4th in the NL (Span leads the NL with 79 runs scored). Harper is 5th in the NL in both slugging percentage (.540) and OPS (.910).
Obviously the season isn't over, and everyone in the Nationals' organization is focused on this team winning a world championship this year. Still, there are already questions about what this roster will look like after the season ends. The most prominent question is that of David Price - the star lefty is sure to command an enormous contract, and the Nationals love him - but can they afford him? With Stephen Strasburg also due for a significant raise, the Nationals may have to pick one or the other - which itself opens the door for another question. Strasburg is eligible for arbitration; Price is not. If re-signing both turns out to be impossible, the Nationals might do the unthinkable and look for a trading partner for Strasburg, while opting to re-sign Price. Doug Fister has been great at the back of the rotation with a 2.67 ERA to date, but will he be satisfied as the #5 starter, or will he seek out a better position elsewhere?
Beyond the starters, baseball's best bullpen specifically avoided any shakeup at the trade deadline - will that continue after the season? The acquisition of Joaquin Benoit as Drew Storen's setup man has worked like a charm, and the Nationals have every intention of bringing him back. In the lineup, the Nationals have an embarrassment of speed, and enough power in the middle...but things may get murky after the season. The arrival of Ben Revere has seemed to throw a wrench in Denard Span's game; Span's batting average has dropped from over .310 to under .300, Revere has replaced him as the leadoff hitter, and the hellraising speed everyone expected from both Revere and Span at the top of the lineup hasn't materialized, at least entirely: while Revere has 16 steals in 26 games since joining the Nats - and now leads the NL with 46 swipes - Span has only four in that same timespan, and has fallen from first to third in the league in steals. Span is still an extremely valuable offensive asset, a stellar defender, and a fan favorite in DC; parting with him in the offseason would be a tough sell.
In the infield, the Nationals are happy with Prince Fielder at first base; particularly, they love the lefty-righty-lefty dynamic of Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, and Fielder in the 3-4-5 spots in the lineup. After that though, there is concern. The speed that Emilio Bonifacio and Jean Segura bring to the lineup is undeniable - but equally undeniable is the distinct lack of power those two bring the second base and shortstop positions. As it stands right now, it may not be feasible to move forward after this season with both of them in the everyday lineup - which would of course mean trading one (or both?) of them.
For now though, the Nationals believe they are baseball's best team. Outside of Oakland (82-46), their record agrees with that sentiment. The lineup can prove to be erratic at times, especially when the speedsters aren't getting on base, but with Harper and Rendon smashing like they are now, and the pitching staff a steady force of dominance, the Nats seem poised to make a deep, deep playoff run as the 2015 season hits the final turn.
07-26-2015, 05:38 PM
