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Patrick Corbin Hits 92 MPH In Second Start
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin averaged 90 mph with his fastball in three innings on Thursday, and reached 92 mph at times. In his last spring start of 2020, he was only in the 87-88 range. After averaging close to 92 mph in the 2019 regular season, Corbin only threw about 90 in 2020.... Read More
Luis Garcia Playing Middle Infield, Learning From Teammates
Washington Nationals infielder Luis Garcia has been playing both shortstop and second base this spring training, with fellow middle infielders Starlin Castro and Trea Turner guiding him along. Garcia entered 2020 as a top-100 prospect and got in 40 games of MLB action replacing an injured Castro, hitting .276/.302/.366 while mostly playing second base. Garcia,... Read More
Jon Lester's Energy Up After Surgery
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jon Lester is happy with his energy levels following the removal of one of his parathyroid glands this spring. Lester said he felt fatigued dating back to last season with the Cubs up until the surgery, so perhaps that partially explains his struggles in 2020, but 2019 didn't go so great... Read More
Stephen Strasburg Sharp In Spring Debut
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his first start of spring training on Tuesday and allowed no hits in 1 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. Strasburg's own main takeaway was the strength of his fastball command. Spring is always a time for optimism but the continued signs that Strasburg is healthy after last year's... Read More
Nationals Need More From Victor Robles
Washington Nationals outfielder Victor Robles would be the team's ideal leadoff hitter, but his career .320 on-base percentage won't really cut it in such a role. Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long is looking for Robles to "progress and get better" to the point where he is capable of the "things that a good leadoff hitter... Read More
Ryan Zimmerman Homers In Spring Debut
Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman began his spring Monday with a home run. Zimmerman sat out 2020 but is back for 2021 and says he feels good. With Josh Bell set to take most of the starts at first base in D.C. this year, Zimmerman is very much a role player this season. When... Read More
Austin Voth Sees Improvement In Spring Debut
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Austin Voth, who is fighting for a rotation spot with Joe Ross and Erick Fedde this spring, had a 1-2-3 inning in his debut on Monday. After a disastrous 2020 which saw him throw to a 6.41 FIP in 11 starts, Voth identified a couple issues with his delivery, involving his... Read More
Max Scherzer Looking at Friday Spring Debut
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer, who hurt his ankle this offseason, will take a bullpen session Wednesday and start against the Cardinals Friday. Scherzer never seemed worried about the injury and is still on track to be ready when the season begins. Despite last year's uncharacteristic 3.74 ERA, Scherzer suffered from a .355 BABIP,... Read More
Juan Soto Out For Precautionary Reasons Monday
Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto fouled a ball off his foot Sunday, thus postponing his planned spring debut Monday. There's no reason to push it, so even though Soto told manager Davey Martinez he feels fine, the team is waiting a couple days to send him out there. This incident is just a reminder of... Read More
Brad Hand Likely The Nationals Closer
Washington Nationals relief pitcher Brad Hand will be the Nationals closer "in a perfect world," according to manager Dave Martinez. Hand previously held the closing gig in San Diego and Cleveland from 2017-20, so this news should be no surprise. Although his xFIP has increased in all three most recent seasons, it has remained solid,... Read More
Josh Bell Ready To Be "The Guy" In D.C.
Washington Nationals first baseman Josh Bell is looking forward to a middle-of-the-order spot in the lineup, writes Mark Zuckerman. Manager Davey Martinez indicated "a very strong possibility" that Bell would hit behind star outfielder Juan Soto, citing Bell's experience batting cleanup and his being a switch hitter. Bell is coming off a difficult 2020 and... Read More
Patrick Corbin Throws Live Batting Practice
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin got some time facing live hitters on Wednesday, with the group of hitters including infielder Starlin Castro. Corbin struggled last year with a 4.66 ERA and 4.12 xFIP, but has said he never felt quite right in 2020. Fortunately, that does not include any health issues this spring, and... Read More
Nationals Want Trea Turner In Heart Of The Order
Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner has long been the team's leadoff hitter, but manager Davey Martinez would prefer him as a middle-of-the-order bat, Mark Zuckerman wrote Monday. Turner did bat second or third for much of 2020 and certainly has the power to succeed as a lineup anchor, with 31 home runs in 181 games... Read More
Joe Ross Eying Fifth Rotation Spot
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Joe Ross, who opted out of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus, is in a competition with Erick Fedde, Austin Voth and Rogelio Armenteros for the team's fifth starter role. Ross, who has had the most MLB success of the quartet, likely would have had the job last year before... Read More
Stephen Strasburg Fully Recovered From Wrist Injury
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg, whose 2020 season ended early due to wrist surgery, is at full strength as spring training begins. According to GM Mike Rizzo, Strasburg is no longer in "rehabilitation mode" but "preparation mode" for the 2021 season. That should allay any concerns about the specific injury Strasburg sustained last year,... Read More
Max Scherzer Sprains Ankle
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer (ankle) sprained his ankle on his landing foot two weeks ago, manager Dave Martinez said Thursday. Scherzer was doing offseason conditioning when he sustained the injury, but it's been characterized as a minor issue. Although he is currently not throwing because of it, this injury should not affect Scherzer's fantasy... Read More
The Cut List (Week 10) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List, already perhaps the final one of the year with the season ending on September 27. Either way, it's crunch time. In recent weeks we switched up the format of this article a bit, to cover a larger pool of players and to discuss trends being seen by fantasy baseball... Read More
The Cut List (Week 9) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List. In recent weeks we switched up the format of this article a bit, to cover a larger pool of players and to discuss trends being seen by fantasy baseball managers across a large number of leagues, based on ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week. Injuries have always... Read More
The Cut List (Week 8) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List. In recent weeks we switched up the format of this article a bit, to cover a larger pool of players and to discuss trends being seen by fantasy baseball managers across a large number of leagues. This article, for three weeks now, reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped... Read More
The Cut List (Week 7) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List. This article, for three weeks now, reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week and, in order from most dropped to least (except most injured players), determines how reasonable that course of action has been. (Some players near the bottom of the ESPN and Cut... Read More
The Cut List (Week 6) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List. In case you missed last week, this article now reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week and, in order from most dropped to least (except most injured players), determines how reasonable that course of action has been. (Some players near the bottom of the... Read More
The Cut List (Week 5) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List, where we're about to call an audible--or, for a more baseball-appropriate term, throw a changeup. This article now reviews several of ESPN's 25 most dropped players in the past week and, in order from most dropped to least (with some exclusions for injuries or opt-outs), determines how reasonable that... Read More
The Cut List (Week 4) - Time to Let Go?
The season is about one-quarter over for the luckiest teams, who have played up to 14 games out of 60. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have played all of five. If only you could have known beforehand which teams would be asymmetrically affected by the current health situation. But while we're dealing with small samples, they represent... Read More
The Cut List (Week 3) - Time to Let Go?
You already didn't have very many Marlins on your fantasy roster, right? It's still early enough that most of your cuts are going to be clearly marginal players who will miss several days due to postponed games. But what about those tougher calls? There's a bit more information out there than there was last week.... Read More
The Early Cut List (Week 2) - Time to Let Go?
Welcome back to the Cut List. Writing this column at this exact moment is an interesting exercise because most cuts are either: really obvious, on account of a player opting out of the season or an injury that will cost several weeks; or the opposite of obvious, on account of no one has played more... Read More
Stephen Strasburg Scratched Saturday
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg will not be making his first start of the season Saturday, pulled because of a nerve issue in his pitching hand. If you were using him in DFS against the Yankees for some reason, pull him now. If he's on a standard fantasy roster he must stay there for... Read More
Andrew Stevenson in Nationals Opening Lineup
Washington Nationals outfielder Andrew Stevenson is batting eighth for the season opener Thursday against the Yankees. With Juan Soto out with an asymptomatic case of coronavirus, the Nationals turn to the 26-year-old Stevenson. Stevenson had some very small-sample success buoyed by a .579 BABIP in 2019, but his career wRC+ is 69. Avoid him in... Read More
Juan Soto Tests Positive for Coronavirus
Washington Nationals outfielder Juan Soto was placed on the injured list Thursday with the novel coronavirus. He is asymptomatic but nonetheless won't be able to play until tested negative. Remove him from your lineups for now, of course, but keep him on your roster. Soto's likely replacement until he returns is likely to be Michael... Read More
Max Scherzer Throws 48 Pitches Wednesday
Washington Nationals starting pitcher Max Scherzer faced teammates for three innings on Wednesday, throwing 48 pitches, as teams ramp up their activity in preparation for the 60-game season beginning July 23. Scherzer only made 27 starts last year due to injury, his first year since 2008 with fewer than 31 starts. When he did pitch,... Read More
Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Ross To Skip 2020
Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman and pitcher Joe Ross have decided not to play in 2020. Zimmerman, 35, had written recently that he was considering this course of action, but has also made a point of saying he may play in 2021 and is not retiring. This news changes little for either player from... Read More
