Today it’s time to preview the 2021 Washington Nationals.  The Nats were supposed to relish as World Champions in 2020 but instead played in front of zero fans.  Their ring ceremony was virtual.  And they played poor baseball.  Washington finished 26-34, but with Stephen Strasburg returning in 2021, is there hope for a return to form?  The Nats still have Juan Soto, one of baseball’s best along with Trea Turner and other very talented players.  There are also some newcomers to help the team compete in 2021…

Additions

• 1B Josh Bell (Trade/Pirates)

• C Alex Avila (FA/Twins)

• SP Jon Lester (FA/Cubs)

• RP Brad Hand (FA/Indians)

• OF Kyle Schwarber (FA/Cubs)

• RP Jeremy Jeffress (Minors)

• RP T.J. McFarland (Minors)

• 2B Hernan Perez (Minors)

• 1B Ryan Zimmerman (Re-Signed)

• RP Luis Avilan (Minors)

• RP Jefry Rodriguez (Minors)

Josh Bell was the first major acquisition this offseason and this is a guy who crushed 37 home runs for Pittsburgh as recently as 2019. Unfortunately, he has struggled since the second half of that season.  He has been pounding the ball into the ground and striking out way too much.  The Nats will look for Bell to return to the beast he was during the first half of 2019.  Alex Avila was signed to back up Yan Gomes.  15 year veteran Jon Lester was signed to see if he has another big year left in his arm after showing some decline the last couple years.  An even bigger signing was closer Brad Hand, who is coming off of a fantastic season with Cleveland. 

Kyle Schwarber will be patrolling the outfield after hitting 38 home runs in 2019 but then struggling in 2020 with a .188 average and 11 bombs.  Other than that, Ryan Zimmerman was also re-signed to a one year deal to compete for time at first base with Bell.  He opted out of the 2020 season but will be back for a 16th MLB season, all with the Nationals.  They also picked up a few guys on Minor League Deals including old Nats prospect Jefry Rodriguez, who returns to the system after getting shipped to Cleveland for the 2020 season.

Lineup

1.       Trea Turner SS

2.       Kyle Schwarber LF

3.       Juan Soto RF

4.       Josh Bell 1B

5.       Starlin Castro 2B

6.       Yan Gomes C

7.       Victor Robles CF

8.       Carter Kieboom 3B

The speedy and insanely talented Trea Turner will lead things off.  He is an elite basestealer, fantastic hitter with power and plays solid defense.  He had a .982 OPS in 2020 and will be huge for the Nats in ’21.  Kyle Schwarber has 30+ home run power and even with the low .188 average in 2020, he still had an on-base percentage over .300. He knows how to work the walk and will also be an extremely important piece in that lineup.  Juan Soto led all of baseball in multiple offensive categories and is an absolute superstar.  He looks like a modern day Barry Bonds, taking walks when he doesn’t get his pitch and absolutely demolishing the baseball when he does.

Newcomer Josh Bell is another big power bat but has struggled over the past season and a half.  Even if he doesn’t bounce back, he will at least present another home run threat and will provide at least some protection for Soto.  Starlin Castro is a nice player to keep the second base position warm until Luis Garcia is ready to take over the reins.  He is a four-time All Star and actually hit 22 home runs in 2019.  With over 1,600 career hits, he has put himself together an impressive career.  Yan Gomes will be at least an average MLB hitter while providing decent defense and a strong throwing arm. 

Victor Robles has a great glove and excellent speed, but his offensive numbers aren’t pretty.  He struck out 53 times in 2020 with just 9 walks in 189 plate appearances.  He had just 3 home runs to show for that performance.  He’ll have to be better in 2021.  Finally, Carter Kieboom needs to prove that he’s not a AAAA player after a so-so at best big league performance so far.  He has the potential but thus far has hit .181 with just 2 home runs in 138 at bats.  Overall, this lineup has serious threats at the top but fades away quickly.  Unless Kieboom steps it up and Robles figures out the holes in his swing, this lineup won’t be too intimidating.  Of course, any lineup that kicks off with Turner, Schwarber, Soto and Bell is definitely not too bad.  I’m going to give the 2021 Nationals lineup a B-.

Bench

• C Alex Avila

• 1B Ryan Zimmerman

• IF Luis Garcia

• IF/OF Josh Harrison

• OF Yadiel Hernandez

• OF Andrew Stevenson

Andrew Stevenson has annihilated the ball against righties for the past two seasons and should get plenty of starts and pinch hit opportunities.  He doesn’t have a ton of power or speed but can play strong defense and after hitting .366 for the past two seasons should have a place on the team in ’21.  Ryan Zimmerman is always a power threat and a Nationals legend who will still be in uniform in ’21 as a valuable veteran presence.  As mentioned, Luis Garcia is a talented and quick youngster with great bat speed and power potential.  Josh Harrison is normally known as a fast and defensively able backup but at 33, he may be slowing down. 

Rotation

1.       Max Scherzer

2.       Patrick Corbin

3.       Stephen Strasburg

4.       Jon Lester

5.       Erick Fedde

Joe Ross

The rotation looks pretty intimidating with Scherzer/Corbin/Strasburg at the top only then followed by Jon Lester in the 4 slot.  Scherzer had a down-year in 2020 but maintained his swinging-strike rate and had other impressive peripherals as well.  All this indicates a bounce-back year in 2021.  Patrick Corbin’s stuff was also more hittable than usual last season as he finished 2-7 with a 4.66 ERA.  He needs to improve his fastball command for his other pitches to be effective.  Strasburg will hopefully be Strasburg after missing most of 2020 to carpal tunnel syndrome.  Most experts tend to believe he will come back strong and be just fine. 

After that, Lester is a solid but super-veteran arm that many believe is completely washed up.  Still, as a 4th starter, you can’t complain.  Finally, Erick Fedde could be the final arm.  He doesn’t miss enough bats and struggles with command.  He strikeout rate in 2020 was only 5 and he gave up 10 home runs in 50 innings.  Joe Ross will get a chance to crack the rotation as well after opting out of 2020.  He is a sinkerballer who won’t blow anybody away, but relies on weak contact.  Despite all the big names in this rotation, there are too many question marks to consider it a strength going into 2021.  You can’t expect great things from Lester and Strasburg is coming off an injury while Corbin and Scherzer struggled in 2020.  Still, you have to respect the names and abilities at the top of the rotation.  I’ll give it a C.

Bullpen

• Daniel Hudson

• Tanner Rainey

• Will Harris

• Brad Hand

• Wander Suero

• Jeremy Jeffress

• Kyle Finnegan

• Ryne Harper

• Kyle McGowin

• Ben Braymer

• Paolo Espino

• Rogelio Armenteros

This bullpen features multiple options for closer.  The favorite, even after the Brad Hand signing, might be Tanner Rainey, who showed great control last year with an insane 42.7 strikeout rate.  Daniel Hudson lost some sharpness on his stuff, especially the slider, and gave up more loud contact than normal in 2020.  His strikeout rate was still strong but he had a 6.1 ERA.  This was why the Brad Hand signing was so important.  Hand gave up just 13 hits in 22 innings with a 2.05 ERA and 29 strikeouts.  Will Harris will also be back.  He throws a super curveball along with a low 90’s cutter.  He continued to pitch well in 2020 after being a major part of the Astros bullpen.  Wander Suero also has a solid cutter and spin rate that makes him hard to barrel up.  Kyle Finnegan is a young reliever who showed great promise in 2020 as well.  There are also some solid arms on minor league deals like Jeremy Jeffress who should be given every chance to crack the Opening Day Roster.  Even beyond that, there are solid names here like Ryne Harper and Kyle McGowin who both showed nasty stuff in 2020.  Although the Nats recently have been criticized for their terrible bullpens, even during their 2019 championship run, this bullpen could be the strongest area of the team going into 2021.  I’m going to give it a B.

So, that does it for the Nationals in 2021.  Overall, this is a team with a lot of talent but clearly a few holes as well.  The lineup fizzes out and the rotation has a lot of question marks.  Still, the bullpen looks strong and this team has enough talent to make a run again in ’21 if everything falls into place like it did in 2019.  I’m going to give this team as an overall club a B-.