After a well-deserved day off, the Washington Nationals continue their road trip into Miami to face the Marlins. The Marlins are 22-30, three games ahead of the Nationals in the NL East. Let’s dive into the pitching matchups.
Tuesday, June 7, RHP Joan Adon (1-9, 5.98 ERA) vs RHP Edward Cabrera (1-0, 0.00 ERA) | First Pitch: 6:40 pm ET
With Joe Ross going down with Tommy John, Adon’s obvious coemption for the rotation spot goes away. Adon continues to struggle, ranking as one of the worst in the league by almost every metric you can think of. His four-seam fastball ranks as the ninth-worst pitch in the league with nine runs above average according to Baseball Savant’s Run-Value metric. Five other pitchers tie him, including fellow National Patrick Corbin.
The 24-year-old Edward Cabrera has gained a lot of hype as a prospect, thanks in part to his high 90’s fastball and 93 MPH changeup. He also throws a slider, sinker, and infrequently used curveball. Cabrera’s dominant first start of the season is unsustainable, like most six-inning one-hit starts, but he has the stuff to blow past any lineup. He just needs to command his pitches.
You can catch this game on MASN or listen on 106.7 The Fan.
Wednesday, June 8, RHP Josiah Gray (6-4, 4.71 ERA) vs Sandy Alcantara (6-2, 1.81 ERA) | First Pitch: 6:40 pm ET
Josiah Gray dominated in his last start against the Reds, where he twirled six innings of two-hit baseball, allowing two runs, only one earned. Walks remain the biggest issue, as it does for most of this pitching staff. If Gray can figure out how to get more groundouts, even a 35% ground ball percentage, he would be something super special.
If the season ended today, Sandy Alcantara would win the Cy Young. He has just been that dominant. If you could make a complaint, it would be that he walks just a few too many batters, but a 2.89 BB/9 is nothing to scoff at, it is just slightly above league average.
You can catch this game on MASN or listen on 106.7 The Fan.
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Thursday, June 9, TBA vs LHP Trevor Rogers (2-5, 5.80 ERA) | First Pitch: 6:40 pm ET
The Nationals are yet to announce a starter for the game on Thursday. Things could line up for left-handed pitcher Evan Lee, who flashed some success in his debut against the Mets. But still, his repertoire lacks a meaningful third pitch. There are rumblings of another pitcher to come up instead. According to Mark Zuckerman of MASN, the 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg might throw his first major league pitch in over a year. He was hitting the mid 90’s on his fastball in his rehab starts. We wish him the best of luck if this ends up happening, which looks more and more likely.
Trevor Rogers is not nearly as dominant as he was in his rookie campaign. He has had a massive decline in strikeouts, and an even bigger incline in walks and home runs. Rogers just is not getting nearly as many whiffs as he was last season.
You can catch this game on MASN or MLB Network or listen on 106.7 The Fan.
Other Notes
- The Nationals refuse to hit for any power. Their .121 isolated slugging (SLG-AVG) is ranked dead last in the National League, and third-worst in the majors.
- Additionally, the Nationals are also one of the worst baserunning teams, ranking second to last in FanGraphs’ BsR metric.
- The Nationals are yet to play the Philadelphia Phillies. They play each other 19 times this season.
- The Nationals’ pitching staff has walked 3.89 batters every nine innings. This is the fourth-highest amount in the major leagues.
- Jesus Aguilar is one home run away from 100 career home runs.
- An 11 RBI series from Nelson Cruz puts him in the top 125 all-time RBI leaders.
- Strasburg’s return will allow him to continue to climb the all-time K leaderboard, where he currently sits at 141st.
