Washington Nationals Receive Harsh Final Grade for Last Season
The Washington Nationals had a handful of young players take over in 2024. However, without wins to show for it, it might be hard to consider this year a success.
Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer recently took a look at each team's past year, namely the 2024 season and the ensuing offseason months, to find a grade for a final report card. For the Nationals, it was an underwhelming 'D' mark.
They finished last season 71-91. Since then, they have gained Nathaniel Lowe for the offense and Michael Soroka for the pitching staff.
The good part of the year was obviously the young guys on the roster making strides and showing flashes of potential in their debuts.
Three starting pitchers that will have major roles last season have less than two years of service time: Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz.
Parker and Herz in particular came out of nowhere to become consistent starters. Neither pitcher was considered a top-20 prospect before the season. While they weren't All-Stars or anything, they had flashes and overall solid debut campaigns.
They also have seemingly found the outfield of the future with James Wood, Dylan Crews and Jacob Young all standing out in their own ways.
Wood had the best year of the bunch with a .264/.354/.427 slash line with 9 home runs and 14 stolen bases in 79 games. He has real potential to become a consistent 20/20 threat.
Crews' first crack at MLB pitching did not go over as well, but he also still had three home runs and 12 stolen bases in just 31 games.
Young is the furthest away at the plate, but is already an elite defender, which earns him a bit of grace with his underwhelming bat.
The bad part of the year is that they still seem to be a ways away from being serious contenders and they haven't done much to capitalize on their young talent this offseason.
Soroka and Lowe weren't bad additions at all, but look more like stop gaps than longterm answers.
Waiting for their young players to develop is fine, but they will need to spend money at some point. It would be nice to see them be a bit more aggressive in free agency in the future.
A 'D' grade might be a little harsh for where they are at right now, but they do still seem on the path to being a bottom-level team next year as well.
