In the Major Leagues, only the Nationals and Cubs have 64 or more wins. The Nationals trail the Cubs by two wins for the most in the Majors.
The Nationals pitching is in almost a virtual tie with the Cubs for #1 in ERA. The Cubs are at 3.21 and the Nationals are at 3.23, and the Nationals have 70 quality starts compared to 67 by the Cubs. The Nationals have been leading in ERA since May 1st. They say it isn’t how you start, but how you finish.
In fielding, the Nationals are the best with only 44 team errors.
On offense, the Nationals are #8 in the Majors in runs scored. The charts below are the offensive charts through the 108 games played for the Nationals. The NL average OPS which includes pitchers is .731. Any player below that is clearly below average. The Nationals team OPS average removing the pitchers is .782.
Team balance between all aspects of the game is imperative for success. The Nationals certainly have that balance between pitching, offense, baserunning, and defense. The baserunning tool has been transformed with the additions of Trea Turner and Wilmer Difo to the line-up and not to be redundant, but we know Dusty Baker loves speed.
The Nationals now have to internally improve, and take the players they have like Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Danny Espinosa, Ryan Zimmerman, and Ben Revere for that improvement.
This chart might surprise you as to current stats versus career stats:
Does Mike Rizzo need to make an August move on a waiver claim trade? Does Dusty Baker need to reshape his starters? What would you do to make this team better?
