Washington Nationals Receive Middling Grade for 2024 Season "With a Lot More Promise"
The Washington Nationals have only six games left in the 2024 season, yet another in a long string of rebuilding years.
With the young core the Nationals have employed, many expected a better effort than they showed in the 2023 campaign.
The club has shown flashes of brilliance over the 2024 season, sitting just four games back of the third Wild Card berth as late as June 30th, but it has not been enough and they need two more wins just to match last year's record of 71-91.
It's easy to look at the 2024 campaign and see that Washington underachieved, but it has laid a solid groundwork to build on for the future.
David Schoenfield of ESPN recently graded each MLB club's season, giving the Nationals a middling grade of "C."
"The young core needs to get a lot better," writes Schoenfield, "before the Nationals start thinking about the postseason."
And getting a lot better is exactly what they intend to do with their 2024 experience.
Before being demoted to Triple-A for staying at a casino until 8:00 AM the night before a game, CJ Abrams was in the middle of a breakout season at only 23 years old.
Abrams carries a .246/.314./433 line into the off-season with a career-high 20 home runs, a career-high 65 RBI, and a career-high 110 OPS+.
The power has arrived for Abrams and could be even more potent with even more experience and another trip around the sun under his belt.
James Wood, 21, has also debuted in a big way for Washington.
With his first MLB game coming July 1st, he has gone on to hit .266/.358/.424 with 24 extra-base hits, 39 RBI, and a 122 OPS+ across 310 plate appearances in 73 games entering Tuesday.
The former top-prospect has lived up to the billing, and has shown promising potential for the future.
While those two young stars have found their footing in the Majors, it may take more time for top-prospect Dylan Crews.
Crews, 22, enters Tuesday with a .204/.262/.337 line with seven extra-base hits, eight RBI, nine stolen bases, and a 69 OPS+ across 107 plate appearances in 27 games since his Major League debut on August 26th.
Crews has shown flashes of brilliance, but it may have been too soon for him to call the Major League club his home.
With the Major League experience, the three core members of the Nationals' future have accrued this season, the future is bright.
While this year may have been a disappointment, Washington could make a splash as early as next year with their young core playing a pivotal role in their offensive production.
TROY BROCK