Nationals Offense, Pitching are on Baltimore Orioles-Like Trajectory
The Washington Nationals dropped a tough one to their inter-division rival Philadelphia Phillies on Opening Day.
Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore struck out 13 Phillies over six scoreless innings, outpitching Cy Young contender Zack Wheeler.
Over the next three innings Washington's bullpen allowed seven runs, ultimately falling to their National League East foe 7-3 despite opening up the seventh inning with a 1-0 lead.
That's the bad news. The good news is the Nationals young roster has a number of commonalities with the ascending Baltimore Orioles.
The Orioles have made the playoffs in each of the last two years, with a 192-163 regular season record over that span. Baltimore has otherwise been a sub .500 team for most of the 21st century.
The Orioles rise came alongside the arrival of MVP-contender Gunnar Henderson, but the team's lineup is filled with young difference makers with a few more still in the minors.
Baltimore already has a young, championship-caliber core that is a top of the line pitcher or two away from being a real problem for the next half decade or more.
Washington does not yet have a Henderson-level centerpiece, but the first three hitters in their order are all 24 years old or younger. Left fielder James Wood is a heart-of-the-order slugger with a perennial All-Star caliber ceiling, similar to Orioles left fielder Colton Cowser.
The Nationals' duo of shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. doesn't quite have the lofty ceiling of Henderson and Jackson Holliday, but Washington's young middle-infield pair is already one of the league's best.
Nationals right fielder Dylan Crews opened the season in the eighth spot in the order, but he's a NL Rookie of the Year contender and the potential centerpiece Washington needs. Hoping that anyone develops into a Henderson-level headliner is an unfair expectation, but it isn't off the table for Crews.
Pitching, at least long term, is an are where the Nationals are better set up than Baltimore. Gore would be the Orioles best starting pitcher, while Washington's top-two minor league prospects are pitchers. Jarlin Susana is 21 years old and the No. 78 overall prospect in baseball. He's also at least a year away from being a Major League pitcher.
Travis Sykora is the No. 69 overall prospect in baseball at just 20 years old, while likely being two years away from a Major League role.
Elite prospects are unproven assets, so there is no guarantee that Sykora or Susana will be factors in the coming years, but Baltimore certainly wishes they had two high-caliber pitching prospects on the way.
Ultimately Baltimore is set up to have an elite offense for the foreseeable future, while Washington has a similarly-talented young core headlining their lineup. The future looks bright for the Nationals, just like it did for the Orioles a few seasons ago.
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Ryan Reynolds has worked in sports media since 2019, where he’s primarily covered the NFL. He got his start writing for Evan Silva and Adam Levitan’s Establish the Run where Ryan became an authority on NFL awards markets. Ryan recently served as an Associate Director and content headliner for former NFL executives Joe Banner and Mike Tannenbaum at The 33rd Team. Ryan has also made multiple guest appearances on Fantasy Sports Radio on SiriusXM and VSiN. Outside of sports Ryan has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, graduating with honors from the University of Minnesota. He now has nearly a decade’s worth of experience in management. You can find Ryan on X @RyanReynoldsNFL or email him at RyanReynoldsNFL@gmail.com.