Jake Irvin Making Real Case to Be Part of Nationals Opening Day Rotation
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With time ticking down until the Washington Nationals play their 2026 season opener on March 26, roster decisions will need to be finalized in the next week.
While the brass has already decided that Cade Cavalli is going to be their Opening Day starter, how the rest of the rotation will look is still unclear. Multiple pitchers are still competing for a starting role, as Josiah Gray, Jake Irvin and Brad Lord are the main ones left following the decision to option Mitchell Parker and Andrew Alvarez to Triple-A Rochester.
Based on how Irvin has performed throughout spring training, it's hard not to be impressed by what he's done. And with that, he's making a real case to remain in the starting rotation despite his disastrous showing in 2025.
Jake Irvin Might Have Locked Up Rotation Spot
Entering camp, it wasn't a given that Irvin would be a starter this year. He finished last season with the worst ERA (5.70) amongst qualified pitchers in the MLB. He looked completely overmatched by major league hitters, and without elite stuff at his disposal, there were questions if he could bounce back and be part of the equation for the Nationals going forward.
But what he's done this spring might have secured himself another opportunity in the rotation, as the 29-year-old has allowed just two earned runs across his four starts and 13 1/3 innings pitched with 15 strikeouts compared to four walks.
As usual, spring training results need to be taken with a grain of salt. However, the things that plagued him last season -- giving up home runs and not missing bats -- seem to have been addressed. While four starts is a small sample size, Irvin has given up just one longball this spring and is causing opposing hitters to whiff 23.4% of the time compared to the mark of 18.2% he had last season.
New Pitching Philosophy Could Help Jake Irvin
Previously, the Nationals threw fastballs at one of the highest rates across the majors, even when other teams were reducing how many times they threw the heater. The new regime has come in and immediately changed the fastball usage of the staff this spring.
For Irvin, that could help him be more effective. Last season, he threw his four-seamer 32% of the time and his sinker 22.2% of the time. Opponents batted .261 and .290 against those pitches, respectively, while hitting 17 total home runs. So far this spring, Irvin has thrown his sinker 22.5% of the time and his four-seamer 18.8% of the time. He's used his slider much more often across his four starts, as he's thrown that pitch 17.4% of the time compared to 4.3% last year.
His improved pitch mix has helped him bounce back in spring training, and it could earn him a spot in the Opening Day starting rotation. If that does become official, the hope is Irvin can take what he's done this spring and apply it throughout the 2026 season.
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