Nationals Boss Says Minor League Pitchers Have Improved Under New Regime

This is a good sign for the Washington Nationals.

Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

How the Washington Nationals' minor leaguers develop down on the farm is something that fans should be paying attention to this year and beyond.

President of baseball operations Paul Toboni was hired with the vision of turning this pipeline into one of the best in the sport. And based on the early returns of multiple young players, there is a good chance that could happen.

What the Nationals need to develop are homegrown star pitchers. They have had one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors for years, and without a financial commitment from the ownership group to spend money on established arms, their minor leaguers have to become impact players for them.

Thankfully, it sounds like Washington's executive is excited about what he's seen so far when it comes to the development under this new regime.

Nationals Have Seen Positive Returns for Minor League Pitchers

Washington Nationals logo | Scott Taetsch-Imagn Images

When speaking with the media ahead of their road series against the New York Mets, Toboni gave some insight into what he's observed when it comes to the pitching development across the entire organization. While he preached patience regarding results in the bigs, he gave fans something to be hopeful about when discussing the farm.

"... Toboni said they are already seeing those improvements in the minor leagues. At the affiliates, they have seen an uptick in the quality of stuff, the velocity and the way they're attacking hitters," reported Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic (subscription required).

That shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise. Young pitchers are easier to develop than those who have reached the majors and have multiple years of experience under their belts. That is why Toboni wanted to get younger across their pipeline this past winter and bring in arms he was familiar with.

Because there are so many minor league affiliates, -- and the age differences are vast when it comes to players competing at those levels -- it's hard to gauge things when it comes to pure statistical numbers. That's why it's great to hear this update from Toboni.

How Nationals Top 30 Pitchers Have Performed So Far

Washington Nationals prospect Landon Harmon | Hannah Mattix/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Still, this is a results-oriented business, so how players perform ultimately does matter. And when looking at how some of the pitchers ranked in Washington's top 30 have performed, it's been a mixed bag thus far despite Toboni stating he's been encouraged by the development that has taken place on the farm.

To start, there has not been a more headline-grabbing pitcher than Miguel Sime Jr. The 18-year-old has dominated Single-A, and there's a good chance he could be the next Nationals pitching prospect who gets ranked in the top 100 of the sport. But outside of him, the scene is a bit more complicated.

Sure, 10th-ranked Landon Harmon and 11th-ranked Alex Clemmey have good ERA numbers with figures of 1.88 and 2.95, respectively. But Harmon has struck out just 11 batters with five walks across 14 1/3 innings through four starts, while Clemmey has rung up 23 batters with 17 walks in 18 1/3 innings pitched across five starts. In addition to that, sixth-ranked Luis Perales, 13th-ranked Yoel Tejada Jr. and 26th-ranked Eriq Swan have all struggled to start the year when it comes to ERA and walk numbers, which is a bit of a concern.

Toboni, his front office and the minor league coaches must be confident in what they have seen across the board for him to make that statement, though, so hopefully things will start to improve and more pitchers will produce stats that jump off the page like Sime's.