2016 National League East Division Champion: Washington Nationals Thread

[CRobi21]

Wouldn't mind 1 or 2 more additions to the pen with the $ we were willing to give YC.

[Taylor703]

He's an 30-year old streaky hitter and people are upset that we didn't give him $100 mil? And WNFF is basically filled with fans that want Rizzo gone which is ridiculous considering the state of this team before he got here.

We'll be fine. The line up is still good and the rotation is stout. People have got to stop freaking out.

[Riggo#44]

Get ready for the flood of "die hard" Mets fans next year...

[TheGoodBits]

3 yr/$75M?We drove the price up!

Forcing the first year opt out was huge too. I'm very satisfied with this outcome.

[Riggo#44]

He's an 30-year old streaky hitter and people are upset that we didn't give him $100 mil? And WNFF is basically filled with fans that want Rizzo gone which is ridiculous considering the state of this team before he got here.

We'll be fine. The line up is still good and the rotation is stout. People have got to stop freaking out.

WNFF is a cesspool of the biggest whiners alive.

But the problem is, we have to hope for health from Rendon, Werth, and Zimm, and DL stints are a foregone conclusion with the latter two. I like Murphy and Revere, but the only bat that really scares you in our line up is Harper.

Do we even have a legitimate 20 HR guy behind Harper?

[TheGoodBits]

Do we even have a legitimate 20 HR guy behind Harper?

Rendon

Healthy Zim

Murphy

Plus a few 15-20 HR potential guys like healthy Werth, healthy/productive Ramos, and Espi.

I'd be willing to bet that at least 1-2 guys not named Harper hit 20 HR this year.

[Riggo#44]

Rendon

Healthy Zim

Murphy

Plus a few 15-20 HR potential guys like healthy Werth, healthy/productive Ramos, and Espi.

I'd be willing to bet that at least 1-2 guys not named Harper hit 20 HR this year.

Potentially, I agree. Rendon is 20-25 HR guy...if healthy. But he'll be hitting ahead of Harper. Murphy is a 15 HR guy, Espi isn't a legit 20 HR threat, too many Ks, too few ABs.

And, as much as I love Werth and Zimm, they'll miss at least 40 games, each. If Zimm somehow finds The Fountain of Health, we'll be in business, but I am not holding out hope.

I fear Harper is going to get the Bonds treatment all year.

[TheGoodBits]

I fear Harper is going to get the Bonds treatment all year.

Didn't stop him last year.

Key this year is having more guys on base ahead of him.

[Riggo#44]

Didn't stop him last year.

Key this year is having more guys on base ahead of him.

Rendon is probably the player that needs to stay healthy the most

[TheGoodBits]

Rendon is probably the player that needs to stay healthy the most

Absolutely agree with that. Needs to recapture that 2014 form. He's a guy that can hit .300 with 20+ HR. Just needs that healthy "put it all together" season like Harp had last year.

[Riggo#44]

One of the things we have going for us is team speed. Revere, Taylor, Espinosa, and eventually, Turner, are going to put a lot of pressure on defenses. Plus, Dusty loves to steal bases and be aggressive, and Davey Lopes is one of the best baserunning coaches. Revere stole 49 with him in Philly.

The Mets are still the favorite. But so were we last year. It's why they play the games. Injuries, regression, and bad luck are no exclusive Washington Nationals properties

[Warhead36]

Mets pitching will regress some, and our bullpen won't be as bad as it was last year. The main reason they won the division is because they dominated the head to head matchups. Don't see that happening again. It'll be a close race. I think Dusty's calm cool approach will do wonders compared to the nervous uptight wreck that was Matty Dubbs.

[JWB]

Gotta agree with what others have posted, Nats would be in an even better position trading for Lucroy than signing Cespedes.

[skinfan2k]

a lot of the players on our team are also super selfish.  I remember last year Rendon could have had his surgery in Dec but then waited and waited and he was pretty banged up until August?

[Popeman38]

a lot of the players on our team are also super selfish. I remember last year Rendon could have had his surgery in Dec but then waited and waited and he was pretty banged up until August?

That was Werth. Rendon got hurt in ST.

[JWB]

Werth lost a year, maybe two to wrist surgeries so I do understand him holding off, but Span pulled that ish and so did a few others.

[Riggo#44]

Werth lost a year, maybe two to wrist surgeries so I do understand him holding off, but Span pulled that ish and so did a few others.

 

I'm wondering if that was the fault of the previous medical staff...all of whom have been replaced.

[Riggo#44]

Good summary of the increasingly acrimonious MASN litigations: http://www.federalbaseball.com/2016/1/24/10822242/washington-nationals-and-baltimore-orioles-escalating-war-over-tv-money

 

I am wondering--if someone with more legal knowledge than me could answer--once this mess is settled, can't the Nationals go back and ask for the past 4 years of funds MASN hasn't paid, based on the settlement?

[Riggo#44]

Interesting analysis of Joe Ross: http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/why-i-both-love-and-hate-joe-ross/

[Taylor703]

Ross is going to be animal next year. Scherzer, Ross and Stras will be an three-headed monster and Gio will be right there with them. I think we're going to be a lot better than people believe.

[Riggo#44]

Ross is going to be animal next year. Scherzer, Ross and Stras will be an three-headed monster and Gio will be right there with them. I think we're going to be a lot better than people believe.

 

He's 100% right though--Ross needs something to get lefties out. He's FB/Slider combo is fantastic--but he is terrible against lefties.

[Warhead36]

Ross is also young and will likely be on some kind of pitch/inning count.

[Riggo#44]

Ross is also young and will likely be on some kind of pitch/inning count.

 

It shouldn't be that bad--he threw 150 IP last year--between AA, AAA and the Nats. 180 wouldn't be unreasonable.

[CRobi21]

Andrew Simon ‏@AndrewSimonMLB  3m3 minutes ago

ICYMI: With help from @Statcast, a look at 5 rebound candidates who hit into a lot of 100+ mph outs last year: http://atmlb.com/1RH7N2h 

 

Wilson Ramos, Nationals

Ramos finally stayed healthy in 2015 but hit a mere .229/.258/.358, sagging to a .543 OPS after the All-Star break. In his age-27 campaign, he set a career high with 128 games -- including 123 starts behind the plate -- but gave Washington the second-lowest OPS+ (64) among qualifiers.

 

While Ramos also had the eighth-lowest BABIP (.256), he likely can blame that in part on a high ground-ball rate, which isn't ideal for a slow-footed catcher. Similarly, his launch angle was below average (7.5 degrees). Still, Ramos saw 49 of his 100-mph balls in play turn into outs, ranking 82nd in average and 87th in slugging among the top 100. Exhibit A: Ramos smashed a 110.5 mph liner -- his eighth-best exit velocity of the season -- off Pittsburgh'sJeff Locke on July 24, only to have second baseman Neil Walker lay out for a diving grab.

[Warhead36]

I was high on Ramos but he really hasn't taken that proverbial "next step." He looked like he was going to be a decently high slugging with really good power hitting C but he's basically peaked at pretty average while K-ing a lot, can't run, and inconsistent glove.