Washington Nationals
On May 24th, the Nationals were 10 games out of first place thanks to a 20-31 record. While it was early, manager Davey Martinez’s seat had to have been getting a little warm, don’t you think? Well, they’ve caught fire since then and have reached and surpassed the .500 mark.
They’ve done a number on their playoff odds, as well:
Since May 24th, the @Nationals have increased their #postseason odds from 3.8% to 57.7%!
Washington has an @MLB-best .721 winning percentage in that span.
Via @baseball_ref pic.twitter.com/S4Yf3Hg540
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) July 17, 2019
When looking at rotation fWAR prior to Thursday’s games, Washington also has the best staff in baseball (13.4 fWAR). It’s not necessarily close, either — the next-closest team is the Los Angeles Dodgers at 11.9.
Clearly, this is an area of strength with hurlers like Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin heading the front of this rotation. Anibal Sanchez has gone from being one of baseball’s worst pitchers in March/April to posting a season-long ERA of 3.71 through 89.2 innings.
Regardless of their frontline depth, the Nationals are a potential fit for a few reasons. Scherzer and Corbin will be around, but Strasburg could technically opt out of his contract following the season (although it doesn’t seem like that’ll happen). And speaking of Scherzer, he’s currently on the injured list with a back strain, which is something to monitor. Washington also hasn’t had a ton of luck or stability in the fifth spot of its rotation.
Putting together a postseason rotation wouldn’t be an easy task for Martinez if Stroman were added, but of course, the Nats must get there first.
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