Washington Nationals Rising Star Discusses What Has Turned Around His Season

The Washington Nationals seem to have a future star pitcher on their hands after he's turned his season around.

Aug 31, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher DJ Herz (74) prepares to throw a pitch against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Nationals Park / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Much of the attention surrounding the Washington Nationals' youth movement is centered around their position players.

It's hard not to be infatuated with the potential lineup that features James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr., but there are some young pitchers in their rotation getting important Major League reps that also is something to be excited about.

Mackenzie Gore will always be someone who is monitored because he was a featured part of the returning package in the Juan Soto deal, but there is another rising star who has started turning heads inside and outside the organization.

DJ Herz, acquired at last season's trade deadline, is beginning to look like a potential impact rotation piece.

In his nine starts following the All-Star break, he has posted a 2.86 ERA across his 44 innings pitched, striking out 52 hitters and limiting opposing lineups to a .177 batting average.

He's been really good, bringing consistent outing after consistent outing which is something that can be rare for someone 23 years old when facing Major League hitters for the first time.

There were some questions if Herz would be able to remain as part of this rotation this season, as before the Midsummer Classic, his ERA was sitting at 5.17 in 31.1 innings pitched where he gave up 35 hits and a batting average of .271.

It seems like he has found something that has spurned his second half success, and he shared exactly what that is with Jake Crouse of MLB.com.

"I think it's just going out there and pitching, knowing that you've got the stuff to do it. Just stay in the zone. The in-zone whiff is there. Everything plays in the zone, so just staying in the zone is the big key," he said.

While that may seem simple, attacking the zone with different styles of pitches is something that is a point of emphasis for staffs around the league. His ability to do so is one of the reasons why he's started to look like he could be a top-of-the-rotation guy for the Nationals going forward.

This was on display against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday when he pitched five no-hit innings before he was pulled out of the game.

Count Pirates manager Derek Shelton as someone who was impressed by what he saw out of Herz.

"I don't know if we've seen a young pitcher like that vary the speeds of his fastball: 92, 94, 96, back to 92, went back up. He did a nice job at the top of the zone, and we just did not adjust to it," he said.

Washington should certainly be excited about what he can do in his career going forward as he seemingly has found some ways to be an effective starting pitcher.