MLB Expert Reveals Best Pitchers for Washington Nationals in 2024
The Washington Nationals might not have had a great season in terms of their win-loss record, but this was a season in which they saw a lot of their young players develop.
While the Nationals have struggled for quite some time, the future does look bright for the franchise. This year, there was a lot of growth for Washington, especially in their lineup.
This campaign, the infield combination of C.J. Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. really took their games to the next level, as Abrams was selected to his first All-Star team. While those two taking a step into the All-Star caliber range was important, a few new top prospects also came up and made their debuts.
Both James Woods and Dylan Crews got to see meaningful action in the second half of the season, and as two of the top prospects in the outfield in the Majors, that is a great sign for next season.
While the future looks bright in the lineup, the Nationals do still have some work to do in the starting rotation and bullpen.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently ranked the Top-5 pitchers for the Nationals this season in this order: Jake Irvin, Kyle Finnegan, MacKenzie Gore, Mitchell Parker, and Derek Law.
“Right-hander Jake Irvin has been the unsung hero of the Nationals staff, making 32 starts and posting a 4.22 ERA and a 153-to-49 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 183.1 innings of work. His 1.18 WHIP ranks eighth among qualified NL starters, ahead of guys such as Max Fried, Freddy Peralta, Logan Webb and others. Veteran reliever Derek Law may have pitched well enough this season to earn himself a MLB deal this time around in free agency. The 34-year-old has a 2.68 ERA and 16 holds in 72 appearances after signing a minor league deal each of the past four offseasons.”
Irvin was certainly deserving of being in the top spot, as the right-hander had the second-best WAR of any pitcher on Washington this season at 2.3.
While it was good to see Law recognized on the list, the argument could be made that he was the second-best pitcher on the team this season. Law has had a 7-4 record and 2.63 ERA. Furthermore, his WAR of 1.8 is right behind Irvin.
Unfortunately for the Nationals after Irvin and Law, there really wasn’t much else to get overly excited about on the pitching staff. Adding a top-end starter to help guide this rotation next season should certainly be a priority for Washington.
