Washington Nationals Young Starter Addresses Concerning Dip of His Velocity
Spring training isn't a time to make proclamations about what types of years specific players will have, but for this Washington Nationals group, it sure can determine who will have a job with the Major League club to open the season.
That's the stage this franchise is in.
After years of rebuilding, they have a roster full of young stars and a pipeline filled with top prospect who are on the verge of making their debuts.
Putting together a good showing this spring would have gone a long way for many of those who are on the 26-man bubble, especially in the battle for the fifth rotation spot.
Right now, it seems like Mitchell Parker is going to earn that role.
He entered camp competing with fellow rising star DJ Herz and offseason signing Shinnosuke Ogasawara, but it's been Parker who has performed well while the others have faltered.
One of the storylines surrounding the struggles of Herz is his lack of velocity.
Last year, Baseball Savant clocked his average fastball at 93.5 mph, and so far this spring, Herz is not only having problems getting to that number, but he only topped out at 91 mph in his latest start on March 13, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN.
That's a concern.
While Herz doesn't have overwhelming stuff when it comes to the speed of his four-seamer, he was still able to generate a whiff rate that was 5.1% above the league average in his 19 MLB starts last season, while limiting hard contact at a rate 4.3% below the league average.
That resulted in the left-hander being an effective pitcher during his first stint in the Majors, finishing with an ERA of 4.16 and 106 strikeouts in 88.2 innings pitched.
But without a competitive fastball this spring, his ERA sits at 6.52 across his four outings, ringing up just four batters in 9.2 innings while allowing 10 hits and nine walks.
Herz isn't worried about his dip in velocity, though.
"The spring training wear and tear kind of hits me a little harder. Look at last year, and then look at the years before, my velo's always down in spring training, my command is all over the place ... Spring training hits me a lot harder than, I would say, most people. And I'm kind of going through that right now. I'm trying to grind through, get through these ones, until my arm is good," he said per Zuckerman.
He might not be concerned, but this is something the Nationals are likely taking into account.
At 24 years old, there is no reason to rush Herz if he still needs some more time in the minors. And while it would have been nice for the youngster to throw shutdown inning after shutdown inning this spring, it's also not the end of the world that he hasn't done that.
Herz was also called up early last season because of injury, only making 10 Triple-A starts before he became a staple in Washington's rotation.
Starting him in the minors to begin the year seems like the smart plan, especially with his arm needing more time to ramp up to get back to the velocity levels he had in 2024.
