Nationals Want Increased Pitching Velocity, Here's Their Plan to Achieve It
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The Washington Nationals know they need to improve their pitching staff.
They have routinely had one of the worst units in baseball the past handful of years, and that has to change if they are ever going to push their way back into contender status again. Signing free agents this offseason will help, but seeing high dividends when it comes to their internal development is crucial for the long-term success of this organization.
One key thing the Nationals have circled as an area they want to improve this winter is velocity, and according to Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic (subscription required), they have a plan in place to achieve that goal.
Nationals Have Detailed Strength and Conditioning Plans to Increase Velocity
Per Nusbaum, Washington is planning on putting together a "strength-and-conditioning camp for minor leaguers and a detailed plan for the major leaguers" that focuses on adding velocity. They believe "several players should return with more velocity" after the completion of those programs.
If that comes to fruition, that would be huge for the Nationals.
This season, they ranked No. 28 in the majors in fastball velocity at 93.8 mph. In 2025, they were also No. 28 at 93.7 mph. That was a stark difference compared to the two seasons before that when they ranked No. 10 in both 2023 and 2024 with average fastball velocities of 94.3 and 94.5 mph, respectively.
Possessing more heat won't automatically make Washington's pitching staff one of the best in baseball. But it could unlock some more things for them, as they have ranked towards the bottom of the league in Stuff+ in every season since 2022.
There were already some clear signs of improvements when it came to velocity and stuff to close out the year when some of the minor leaguers who got a season of experience in the Nationals' new pitching lab arrived in The Show. And now, this winter, they are hoping that carries over to the entire organization.
Nationals Hoping To Be on 'Cutting Edge of Pitch Design'
Washington wants well-rounded pitchers, though, not just hard throwers who are one-trick ponies. That's why another thing that president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and his front office are hoping to accomplish this offseason is improving their overall pitching lab.
Per Nusbaum, "They hope to be on the cutting edge of pitch design."
That shouldn't be too much of a surprise based on the backgrounds of Toboni and the front office members he hired on the developmental side of things. Pitch design is a data-driven process that analyzes the shape, movement, velocity and other external dynamics of the ball on any given throw, which fits into the analytical embrace of this new regime.
The Nationals hope that focusing on improved pitch design will allow some of their relievers to widen their mix of pitches, which would give them more weapons to choose from on any given at-bat. Naturally, that would make each pitcher less predictable, which should make them harder to hit even if they don't possess high-end stuff.
Washington has their sights set on revamping everything when it comes to their pitching staff. And with a plan in place to increase velocity this winter, the hope is 2027 will yield more positive results.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai