3 Numbers Stand Out When It Comes to Why This Nationals Pitching Staff Is Struggling
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The Washington Nationals enter their off day on Thursday with a 4-8 record.
If it wasn't for this bullpen that has run into some major issues the past week, they could have a winning record. But following an offseason where additions were made on the margins coming off a year where that unit finished with the worst ERA in the MLB, these struggles probably should have been expected.
However, the bullpen isn't the only part of this pitching staff that is to blame. The starting rotation has also had their own issues, and that has resulted in the Nationals owning the worst ERA across the majors with a figure of 6.06. How Washington can turn it around and get everything fixed isn't clear. But it's evident that their struggles stem from these three things.
Teams Are Slugging .598 Against Their Fastballs
The Nationals have altered their pitching philosophy under this new regime. Previously a fastball-heavy staff based on how the old operation did things, Washington moved into more of a balanced approach where off-speed pitches were the focal point alongside the heater.
Unfortunately, teams are still teeing off on fastballs thrown by Nationals pitchers. Per Statcast, opposing batters have a slugging percentage of .598 against fastballs thrown by Washington, which is last in the majors. The league average is .415.
Until the Nationals are able to have more success when they throw fastballs, it's going to be hard for them to limit damage against them, especially if hitters continue to slug at that high of a rate.
WHIP of 1.65
One of the reasons why opposing teams are having so much success against the fastball is because Washington's pitchers consistently find themselves behind in the count. That has resulted in teams drawing walks or getting hits, which is why their WHIP sits at 1.65 and is second-worst in the MLB.
Washington leads Major League Baseball in hits allowed (117) and has issued the fourth-most walks (60). That is a recipe for disaster, and it's easy to see why this staff has given up the second-most earned runs (72) as a result.
Whiff Rate of 22.5%
Both of the things mentioned above have made it hard for this staff to generate swing-and-miss, as their whiff rate of 22.5% puts them 28th in the MLB. There might be some room to improve upon that number, but there is plenty that needs to be fixed for that to happen.
A lot of the issues Washington has run into thus far stems from getting behind in counts. The inability to throw strikes has allowed opposing hitters to hunt for fastballs, which has created a massive slugging percentage against those pitches. At the same time, the lack of accuracy has also resulted in walks, which puts less pressure on lineups to swing at anything thrown their way.
Overall, the Nationals have tons of things they need to fix when it comes to this pitching staff. But these three numbers jump off the page when it comes to the main reasons why they have had such a hard time producing results so far in 2026.
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