Nationals Have Done One Thing Well With Their Pitching Staff This Year
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Outside of MacKenzie Gore, there isn't a whole lot for the Washington Nationals to hang their hats on when it comes the entire pitching staff.
They rank 29th in the Majors with an overall ERA of 5.21, while their starting rotation is 26th with a 4.77 ERA and their bullpen is last with a 5.88 ERA.
Much of that has to do with injuries and who departed this past winter, with key reliever Derek Hall not pitching a single inning yet this season while the front office traded Robert Garcia in exchange for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.
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The results might be frustrating on the field, but it's still a growing phase for the Nationals. And the organization is tinkering with things that could set themselves up for success in the future.
According to Mark Zuckerman of MASN, one positive they should take away so far this year is the decision to convert former starters Brad Lord and Cole Henry into relievers.
"There's been some bumps along the way, but one of the sneaky positive developments of the first half was the emergence of two former rotation prospects who were converted into relievers and have performed quite well under the circumstances," he wrote.
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Lord appeared like he might be a rotation piece of the future after he posted a 2.43 ERA over 25 starts in 2024 across three affiliate levels, but Washington felt like the 6-foot-3 right-hander might be more effective in the bigs coming out of the bullpen.
So far, that has proven to be correct, with him posting a 2.79 ERA across 29 outings this season while he has an ERA of 4.44 in his six spot starts.
If Lord can continue to develop as a relief pitcher at 25 years old, the Nationals might have found a reliable arm coming out of the bullpen for the future.
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Same goes for Henry.
After putting up some solid numbers as primarily a starter in the minors, they decided to convert the 2020 second-round pick into a reliever.
He's posted a 3.82 ERA across his 34 outings in The Show this season, which is a great foundation to build upon going forward.
So, while Washington's bullpen overall has been a disaster this year, it seems like they made the right decision when it comes to the usage of Lord and Henry, potentially giving themselves two reliable arms to build around in that unit going forward.
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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