by Stan4Nats
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
That 17.18 ERA that right-handed starting pitcher, Jake Irvin, posted over two appearances in Spring Training will be a stat that Irvin won’t miss from his Baseball Reference page when they wipe the slate clean in three weeks. Irvin has to start pitching well to make sure he isn’t the odd man out in the starting rotation. He isn’t an established veteran with a lock on a roster spot.
Continue reading
Get ready for four-days of top prospect baseball when all teams will showcase top prospect games with the inaugural SPRING BREAKOUT held from March 14-17 at Grapefruit and Cactus league stadiums starting a week from today and through that weekend. The Washington Nationals and New York Mets Spring Breakout game will be played on March 15 in a Friday afternoon showcase game at 3:10 PM EDT with a big league game following in a doubleheader.
The “Spring Breakout” game, which is a new concept this year, fields rosters of team’s future stars for a showcase in the middle of the Spring Training schedule. Teams are paired against nearby teams in the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues, and the Nats prospects will travel to face the Mets at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie.
Continue reading
The tattoo on his forearm reads, “Always remember,” and for a while — and for a different reason some forgot. Baseball fans, and the media, are a fickled group that can forget about you if there is a new flavor of the day. James Wood is not a new flavor — he isn’t even an acquired taste. He is a top prospect in all of baseball at No. 14 overall, and Wood had one of the most exciting first weeks of Spring Training in Nats’ history. The lefty was making the national news, which obviously happens when you lead all of baseball in the first week of baseball with three homers.
With a tough lefty, Jesus Luzardo, starting today — Dylan Crews got a rare start amongst the veterans in the lineup. The LSU product was the second overall pick in the draft and ranked at the No. 7 overall prospect in baseball. He did not disappoint in the power and hustle department in today’s game. While Wood still leads the team in batting average, homers and OPS, Crews just inched a little closer with his homer and double today to surge back into the baseball vernacular of prospects of note, or in this case — just a reminder to remember him.
Continue reading
Today starts the third time through the starting rotation for the Washington Nationals with Patrick Corbin on the mound. News broke this morning that the Nationals and free agent outfielder Eddie Rosario were in agreement on a minor league contract. That deal can pay the veteran a $2 million contract and up to $4 million after incentives, with a promotion to the Majors, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base.
Continue reading
The Washington Nationals have the best outfield prospects in all of baseball with Dylan Crews and James Wood who Baseball Prospectus ranked at №5 and №7 respectively of baseball’s best prospects. Add in Robert Hassell III, Jacob Young, and a few others into an outfield mix for one of the deepest prospect groups we have seen.
Now the big debate is whether Wood should be a starting outfielder on Opening Day for manager Dave Martinez. General Manager Mike Rizzo has to play the long game and think about the future. For Martinez, it is about winning NOW.
A final and very big “thank you!” from DonH, Section 222, and me to everyone who donated to the 3rd annual RCR Points Drive. Along with members of two Facebook groups (Nationals RCR Codes and Diehard Nationals Fans), TalkNats readers and commenters contributed a total of a whopping 177,218 points. The points were exchanged for a mountain of Nats and baseball swag, which was then donated to the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy (YBA).
A significant number of you also contributed in other ways, including monetary donations and giving me thoughtful items earmarked for the Academy.
Continue reading
Yesterday, Zach Davies was supposed to start against the Marlins, but the weather got in the way of that. Today was supposed to be Trevor Williams. 2024 Spring Training debut against the Cardinals. The Spring Training schedule and everything about it is unpredictable. Pitchers have to build up arm strength, and Williams was already given permission for a delayed arrival in camp due to the birth of his child.
Continue reading
We are at the midway point today in Spring Training camp, and only at the ninth game. In exactly three weeks, the Grapefruit League portion of Spring Training will wrap up, and the Washington Nationals will fly to Washington, D.C. after their game with the Mets that day in Port St. Lucie. Today, the Nats welcome in a road crew from the Marlins. Zach Davies makes his second start for the Nationals in a game broadcasted on MASN.
Continue reading
The bus trip, for the Washington Nationals, to Ft. Myers to face the Red Sox in a Grapefruit League game is the longest of the road trips this year. This one is 120+ miles from the Atlantic Ocean coast to the Gulf Coast via US-98 to FL-80 going east to west. Teams are required to send at least four starters on these road trips, and manager Dave Martinez loosely satisfied that rule with Josiah Gray starting along with Joey Meneses, Luis Garcia Jr., and Alex Call. But the star power in this game is the top prospects.
The Nats’ manager has penciled in James Wood at DH and Dylan Crews CF into the starting lineup plus Jacob Young RF and Nasim Nunez SS. The speed in this lineup is like the heats in a qualifying race. Traveling with the team are Brady House, Robert Hassell III, Yohandy Morales, Daylen Lile, Trey Lipscomb and Elijah Green. The only positional prospect in the Top-10 that seems to be missing is Cristhian Vaquero. Maybe he was on the bus also.
Continue reading
Relying on Spring Training stats they say holds a trap in statistical reliance. Process is more important than the stats. Was the wind blowing out-or-in? Was the pitcher working on mechanics and a certain pitch? Let’s face it, Forrest Wall is killing it, and so is James Wood of the Washington Nationals. Wall is 28 years old, and Wood is just 21. They are tied for the MLB lead in Spring Training homers at three each. That is more home runs than five teams have hit this Spring, and three of those teams play in Palm Beach County. The wind has been blowing in which makes the Nats home run production more impressive.
The Cardinals have zero home runs in Spring Training, the Astros have one, and the Marlins have two. That is total team production, but then you look at the teams that play on the Gulf Coast of Florida — and the ball is flying there. That will also skew the pitching stats too. We saw Brady House lose a home run to the wind pushing it back, and it didn’t help Dylan Crews going oppo on a ball that just got caught on the warning track. More important is the exit velo, and the Nats’ top prospects are excelling on that stat also.
Continue reading
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
