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The Washington Nationals made a surprising decision with their final roster cuts on Tuesday. As reported by the Washington Post’s Adam Kilgore, the team optioned starting pitcher John Lannan to Class AAA Syracuse and kept Ross Detwiler on the big league roster. 

Perhaps it shouldn’t be a shock that the Nats sent Lannan to the minors, considering general manager Mike Rizzo was trying to trade him throughout spring training.

With the additions of Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson to their rotation, the Nationals appeared to have a surplus of starting pitching. Several rumors had the Detroit Tigers inquiring about Lannan, with the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros also showing interest.

The general opinion seemed to be that the Nats would hold on to Lannan after Chien-Ming Wang suffered a hamstring injury. But Lannan did himself no favors by pitching badly this spring. In six appearances, he allowed 14 runs (12 earned) and 24 hits in 21 innings.

By comparison, Detwiler compiled a 3.06 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings.

According to CSNWashington.com’s Mark Zuckerman, choosing Detwiler over Lannan wasn’t simply a matter of spring performance. The Nationals believe Detwiler has more upside and can get even better.

With Lannan, what you see is what you get. He’s a good, not great pitcher and isn’t really going to improve. 

MLB.com’s Bill Ladson reported that the Nats indeed tried to trade Lannan, but were asking for too much in return. No potential trade partner wanted to give up a starting major league position player in exchange for a pitcher that would probably fill the back end of a rotation. 

Above all else, Lannan being squeezed off the roster speaks to how the talent level and depth of the Nationals’ starting five has improved.

Last year, the Nats pitched Livan Hernandez and Lannan in their first two games of the season. But the pitching staff has come a long way.

Stephen Strasburg is back after Tommy John surgery. Jordan Zimmermann made 26 starts after undergoing the same procedure a year earlier. Gonzalez is the rare left-handed strikeout pitcher, almost racking up 200 of them last season.

Edwin Jackson could be a No. 2 starter on many teams. In D.C., he’ll probably be fourth in the Nats’ rotation. 

That is a deep top four which measures up against any other team in the majors, let alone in the NL East. Add Detwiler and you have a fifth starter who could do a lot more than just eat innings and give the bullpen a break. 

This isn’t just an encouraging decision by the Nationals, it’s a bold one. According to Kilgore, Lannan is the highest paid player to be optioned to the minors before spring training ends. He’s on the books for $5 million this year.

Lannan will probably be back in D.C. at some point this year. No team makes it through a full major league season using just five starting pitchers. But the Nats didn’t want to settle as they begin what could be a playoff season for them. 

Many teams would have opted to keep the guy with the larger salary, especially when he posted a 3.70 ERA last season. But the Nationals believe they have a better team with Detwiler in the rotation. That’s the kind of aggressive thinking Nats fans should celebrate. 

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In a move that seemingly nobody saw coming, the Washington Nationals have chosen to option left-hander John Lannan to Triple-A Syracuse on the final day of Spring Training, reports Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.

Lannan and his $5 million salary were the likely candidate to take the place of the injured Chien-Ming Wang as the No. 5 starter in the rotation. After recording more than 180 innings with an ERA of 3.70 in 2011, Lannan was considered the favorite for the job.

This move comes less than two weeks after manager Davey Johnson unofficially named Lannan his fifth starter, saying, “John’s my guy.”

That move sent Ross Detwiler and Tom Gorzelanny to the bullpen. Both were scheduled to be long men, but that was not an ideal situation as neither is a right-hander.

With the optioning of Lannan to Triple-A, Detwiler finds himself with the No. 5 spot in the rotation. That move allows Craig Stammen and Ryan Mattheus to be a part of the Opening Day roster.

Mattheus will pitch in a setup role while Stammen will serve as the right-handed long reliever.

Detwiler was a member of the rotation at times in 2011 and impressed the club with his raw stuff. For years his pitching ability intrigued the Nationals, but it wasn’t until last season that he was able to put it all together.

He had nine starts from August 4th to the end of the season. In those starts, he compiled a 4-5 record with a 3.20 ERA.

When Johnson was asked about the move, he commented: “It’s really more about Ross Detwiler.”

Lannan, who was informed about the move during the third inning of Tuesday’s game, is the second-highest-paid pitcher on the Nationals behind Edwin Jackson.

With that much money sitting at Triple-A, it’s likely that the Nationals will once again resume trade talks with other clubs regarding the left-hander.

He remains a National for now, albeit at the minor league level.

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In a surprising turn of events, the Washington Nationals optioned John Lannan to Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday.

Lannan was ready to take the reigns as the fifth starter in the Nationals’ dominant rotation while Chien-Ming Wang recovers from a hamstring strain.

Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post reported that Lannan was sent down and that Ross Detwiler will likely become the Nationals’ fifth starter.

Detwiler has shown good control this spring. In 17.2 innings, Detwiler has struck out 18 while walking five batters. He has pitched to a 3.06 ERA while giving up 14 hits this spring.

The 26-year-old Detwiler has not thrown more than 75.2 innings in his career but has a chance to impress the Nationals while Wang is sidelined.

Lannan had drawn interest from teams all offseason but the Nationals ultimately decided to keep Lannan around. They will have a decision to make down the road, assuming they hold on to Lannan and Wang becomes healthy.

They are one of the few teams that have depth at pitching and can withstand injuries to their starting rotation.

Lannan had a chance to start the season with the big club due to Wang’s injury but now finds himself in Syracuse. Perhaps his 5.14 ERA in spring led to the decision to be made.

Now it is up to Detwiler to impress with the opportunity he has been given and force manager Davey Johnson to make a decision when Wang returns.

 

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One of the biggest concerns for the Washington Nationals as spring training reaches its end has been the health of closer Drew Storen. Storen hasn’t pitched in three weeks due to inflammation in his right elbow.

As reported by the Washington Post‘s Adam Kilgore, an MRI exam found no structural damage. But Storen has been told to rest and not throw for at least four days. The Nationals expect him to begin the season on the disabled list.

But the Nationals probably won’t have to worry to much about who will pitch the ninth inning, thanks to a savvy offseason signing by general manager Mike Rizzo. Brad Lidge was brought in as a free agent to give the bullpen depth, but now looks like he’ll be a closer again.

Nats manager Davey Johnson told reporters that Lidge or Henry Rodriguez will close out games in Storen’s absence. Rodriguez and his 100 mph fastball will surely get some save chances, but pitching him in different high-leverage situations throughout a ballgame might be the best use of his talents.

Keeping Tyler Clippard as the setup man, a role in which he excelled last year (1.83 ERA, 104 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings), is probably the smart move.

Like many major league managers, Johnson apparently prefers using players in roles they’re familiar with. Lidge, 35, is definitely accustomed to pitching in the ninth inning, having saved 223 games over a 10-year major league career.

Lidge missed the first half of last season after tearing his rotator cuff. And when he returned, his velocity was way down. That forced him to rely on his slider, which he had trouble locating. Yet by the end of the season, he was looking more like his old dominant self.

But Lidge insists he’s fully healthy now, and throwing better than he did at any point last year.

“There’s nothing prohibiting me from throwing inside or outside, throwing sliders wherever,” he told the Post‘s Kilgore. “I was a little tentative when I came back last year. The way I finished off the year last year, command-wise, I feel like I’m there right now. … If I’m throwing 90 with command of my slider, that’s good. Anything above that is gravy.”

Some observers might wince at Johnson leaning toward Lidge because he’s shown he can pitch the ninth inning. (In fairness, Johnson hasn’t been quoted as actually saying that and apparently wants to see Rodriguez close some games, too.) But using him in that role gives Johnson more flexibility, allowing him to use better relievers in more important situations.

Lidge was already signed at a bargain, agreeing to a one-year, $1 million contract. At that price, he could end up being an absolute steal.

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The Washington Nationals might start their season with their closer sidelined on the disabled list.

Drew Storen, who has been sidelined with bicep, tricep and elbow pain, might not have enough time to prepare for the regular season. An MRI done earlier this week revealed inflammation in his elbow joint but no structural damage.

According to Nationals beat writer Amanda Comak, Nationals manager Davey Johnson said that Washington will “prepare for the possibility he doesn’t break with us.”

Storen plans to begin throwing on Tuesday or Wednesday, and the Nationals fear that there might not be enough time for him to be ready to close ballgames at the beginning of the regular season.

If Storen starts the season on the DL, Johnson plans to leave Tyler Clippard in the set-up role and have Brad Lidge and Henry Rodriguez assume the role of closer. Lidge has plenty of experience as a closer, as he racked up 223 career saves in his career with the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies.

The good news is that Storen should be able to bounce back from the injury since there is no structural damage. The Nationals should be able to piece it together without moving Clippard from his set-up role.

The 24-year-old Storen had 43 saves last season in his first full year as the Nationals closer. The Nationals hope that he can return without pain and be effective for a team with expectations to contend.

 

You can follow me on Twitter @NargOnSports.

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Innings limits may not always be the most popular thing for managers and owners to impose, but they are definitely important in keeping young arms fresh and healthy.

Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post that Stephen Strasburg will be on an innings limit this season. Strasburg will pitch every fifth day from the start of the regular season until he hits the 160-innings mark.

The Nationals will not tamper with his outings, allowing him to pitch as deep into games as he is able to. After 160 innings, though, the team will shut him down for the remainder of the season.

Strasburg is already one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, striking out 116 batters in just 17 starts. He’s walked just 19 batters and pitched to a 2.54 ERA.

His growth is nowhere near complete, however. Many feel he has even more room to grow. That’s why it’s a smart decision to keep him on regular rest while he works towards 160 innings.

Allowing him to pitch on a consistent basis will help him to learn how to adjust between starts and develop a routine on how to prepare on a day-to-day basis.

Nationals fans may not be in love with the decision, as they were hoping that this would finally be the season that the team makes a playoff push.

Strasburg will be essential in getting the team to that point, but he will almost certainly not be a part of the playoff roster if the Nationals can earn a spot.

Strasburg is not alone this season, as there are several other young hurlers who could be put on innings limits in 2012.

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The Washington Nationals took a big step forward in 2011, and they’ll head into 2012 looking to take yet another big step forward.

The Nats finished just a game under .500 last season, which is pretty impressive considering the fact Jayson Werth was a bust in the first year of his big contract and they only got to enjoy five starts from Stephen Strasburg. 

Over the offseason, the Nats went out and shored up their starting pitching staff and their bullpen. On paper, they now look like a very strong team, one that could possibly win the NL East.

Here’s a look at how the Nats are shaping up heading into 2012.

 

2011 Record: 80-81

Key Arrivals (courtesy of BaseballProspectus.com): RHP Ryan Perry (from Detroit), RHP Jeff Fulchino (FA), 2B Andres Blanco (FA), OF Xavier Paul (FA), 3B Chad Tracy (FA), 3B Jarrett Hoffpauir (FA), RHP Waldis Joaquin (FA), SS Carlos Rivero (waivers), LHP Gio Gonzalez (from Oakland), RHP Robert Gilliam (from Oakland), OF/INF Mark DeRosa (FA), C James Skelton (FA), C Devan Ivany (FA), RHP Jimmy Barthmaier (FA), RHP Brad Lidge (FA), RHP Edwin Jackson (FA), 3B Mark Teahen (FA), OF Rick Ankiel (FA).

Key Departures: RHP Collin Balester (to Detroit), LHP Tom Milone (to Oakland), C Derek Norris (to Oakland), RHP A.J. Cole (to Oakland), RHP Brad Peacock (to Oakland), RHP Todd Coffey (FA), RHP Livan Hernandez (FA). 

 

Projected Rotation (per official site)

1. Stephen Strasburg (1-1, 1.50 ERA, 0.71 WHIP)
2. Gio Gonzalez (16-12, 3.12, 1.32)
3. Jordan Zimmerman (8-11, 3.18, 1.15)
4. Edwin Jackson (12-9, 3.79, 1.44)
5. Chien-Ming Wang (4-3, 4.04, 1.28)*
6. John Lannan (10-13, 3.70, 1.46)
7. Ross Detwiler (4-5, 3.00, 1.26)

*Adam Berry of MLB.com has reported that Wang will be out a couple weeks with a hamstring injury. He likely won’t be ready to roll by Opening Day. 

Projected Starters

C: Wilson Ramos (.267/.334/.445)

1B: Adam LaRoche (.172/.288/.258)

2B: Danny Espinosa (.236/.323/.414)

3B: Ryan Zimmerman (.289/.355/.443)

SS: Ian Desmond (.253/.298/.358)

LF: Michael Morse (.303/.360/.550)

CF: Roger Bernadina (.243/.301/.362)

RF: Jayson Werth (.232/.330/.389)

Bullpen

Closer: Drew Storen (R) (6-3, 43 SV, 3 HLD, 5 BLSV, 2.75 ERA, 1.02 WHIP)

Tyler Clippard (R) (3-0, 38 HLD, 7 BLSV, 1.83, 0.84)

Brad Lidge (R) (0-2, 1 SV, 8 HLD, 1.40, 1.50)

Sean Burnett (L) (5-5, 4 SV, 15 HLD, 6 BLSV, 3.81, 1.32)

Henry Rodriguez (R) (3-3, 2 SV, 10 HLD, 3 BLSV, 3.56, 1.51)

Tom Gorzelanny (L) (4-6, 4 HLD, 1 BLSV, 4.03, 1.29)

Ryan Perry (R) (2-0, 4 HLD, 1 BLSV, 5.35, 1.62)

Ryan Mattheus (R) (2-2, 8 HLD, 2.81, 1.28)

Craig Stammen (R) (1-1, 1 HLD, 0.87, 0.68)

Atahualpa Severino (L) (1-0, 1 HLD, 3.86, 1.29)

Scouting the Starting Pitching

Starting pitching wasn’t Washington’s specialty in 2011, but Washington’s rotation was better than most people probably think.

Despite the fact they logged just 79 quality starts, Nationals starters combined for a 3.80 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP last season. Both of those figures were middle of the road in the National League, and they put the Nationals in the same company as teams like the St. Louis Cardinals.

One of the biggest problems Washington’s rotation had last season was its inability to strike hitters out. Nationals starters had a 5.67 K/9, second-lowest in the National League.

This is one thing that should be different in 2012. The Nationals have a few guys in their rotation who can strike hitters out in their sleep.

It all starts at the top with Stephen Strasburg, who is about to embark on his first full season in the major leagues. The Nationals have no choice to but to sit back and cross their fingers, hoping that Strasburg will be as good as he was in the 12 games he started back in 2010.

In those 12 starts, Strasburg had a 12.18 K/9. To put that in perspective, the highest K/9 posted by a qualified pitcher that season was 9.79, posted by Tim Lincecum. Strasburg had that rate beat by a lot. To put it in further perspective, had Strasburg pitched the whole season, his 12.18 K/9 would have qualified for the seventh-best single-season K/9 ever.

In the five starts Strasburg made in 2011, he slacked off and posted a pedestrian K/9 of 9.00. This, however, was coupled by a 0.75 BB/9. 

The question you want to ask is this one: How high can I get my hopes up?

Not too high. Strasburg has a live arm, but the Nats know it’s also a fragile arm. They’ll be watching Strasburg’s innings like a hawk, and they will intervene at the slightest sign of trouble. 

The other guys in the rotation will have to pick up the slack, and that’s an effort that will start with Gio Gonzalez.

Gonzalez can’t strike guys out quite like Strasburg, but he’s coming off a season in which he posted a K/9 of 8.78. That was good for 11th in baseball and fourth in the American League. 

The downside? Gonzalez’s BB/9 was over 4.00, and he ended up walking a major league-high 91 hitters. That’s not a category any pitcher wants to lead baseball in. 

The bright side is that Gonzalez still managed to pitch 200 innings despite his tendency to walk the ballpark, and that can be chalked up to how hard he was to hit. He got a good percentage of ground balls, and he was able to keep hitters off balance pretty well. All told, hitters hit just .230 off him with a .336 slugging percentage. 

So you can just imagine what will happen if Gonzalez stops piling up walks. He’ll be an ace.

Jordan Zimmerman was the ace of this staff in 2011. He had a sub-.500 record, but there’s nothing to scoff at when you look at Zimmerman’s other numbers. He didn’t strike out a ton of hitters, but he helped himself by lowering his BB/9 to 1.73, a very good mark. 

Zimmerman’s success came mostly through his ability to get fly ball outs. Among NL pitchers with at least 160 innings, only five pitchers had a higher fly-ball rate than Zimmerman’s 41.9 percent. It’s impressive that he managed to keep the ball in the yard, as he gave up only 12 home runs in a little over 161 innings of work.

I would say that Zimmerman got lucky, but that’s a hard argument to make given the fact Zimmerman’s FIP of 3.16 was basically a mirror image of his ERA. That’s a sign that his numbers were right where they were supposed to be. So if he stays steady in 2012, he’ll be an outstanding No. 3 starter.

Edwin Jackson will be a solid No. 4 starter. Walks have always been a problem for him, but he’s coming off a season in which he posted a career-best 2.79 BB/9. So at least there’s that.

The not-so-good news is that Jackson’s K rate dropped to 6.67 per nine innings, and hitters hit .290 off him. There’s really no defending those numbers.

What does bode well for Jackson is that he’s joining a division that has three below-average offensive clubs in it in the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. Extra starts against them will help Jackson pad his stats and will likely push him closer to the 200-inning mark. You take that kind of production out of a No. 4 starter.

Chien-Ming Wang would be an outstanding No. 5 starter if this was 2007. But since it’s not, well, I guess the Nationals will have to take what they can get out of Wang and be thankful.

I’ll say this for Wang. In the 11 starts he managed to make last year, he showed that he still has the ability to get ground balls in bunches. If he can do that over, say, 20 starts with John Lannan and others picking up a start here and there, the Nats will be pretty happy with what they’re getting from the back end of their rotation.

The Nationals rotation is not as great as Philadelphia’s, for example, but it’s full of starters who are young, and most of them have live arms and great stuff. The ceiling for this group is very high.

 

Scouting the Bullpen

Washington’s bullpen had a strange season in 2011.

The good: a 3.20 ERA (fourth in NL), a .225 opponents’ batting average (fourth in NL), a 1.26 WHIP (fourth in NL) and an 8.02 K/9 (tied for sixth in NL).

The bad: 27 blown saves, the most in the major leagues.

Oh well. It’s a new season now, and there’s a lot to like about the bullpen the Nats have lined up for 2012.

Drew Storen was one of the top closers in the league last season, finishing tied for sixth in the majors with 43 saves and posting a 2.75 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. It was generally agreed before last season that Storen had closer’s stuff and, well, there it was. 

Storen will deliver his fastball consistently in the mid 90s, and he gets a lot of swings and misses on his secondary stuff. His 8.84 K/9 did not place him amongst the game’s elite relievers, but he kept his BABIP at a very respectable .246, and hitters had hit just .204 off him when all was said and done. He didn’t suffer solid contact to be made against him.

This season, Storen will have to work on increasing his K/BB ratio, and he’ll do himself plenty of favors if he surrenders fewer home runs. He gave up eight last season in 75.1 innings pitched, which is a few too many.

Setting up for Storen will be Tyler Clippard. Once a Yankees washout, Clippard proved to be a dominant setup man last season. He allowed a ridiculously low .162 opponents’ batting average, which looked pretty good next to his 10.60 K/9.

We knew Clippard had the goods to strike hitters out, but one of the reasons he was so much better in 2011 than he’d ever been before was because of his improved control. Clippard had a BB/9 over 4.00 in 2010. In 2011, he got it down to 2.65, an impressive decrease.

In the end, Clippard ended up leading the majors in the most overlooked category in baseball: holds. He had 38 of them.

The Nats went out and acquired Brad Lidge to help set up for Storen in the ninth. Lidge is a total crapshoot at this stage of his career, but he’s looked sharp in spring training. The Nats know Lidge is not going to blow hitters away with his fastball anymore, but he’ll be a solid reliever if he can use his slider effectively. And of course, they’ll need Lidge to stay healthy. 

If the Nats get the pre-All-Star break version of Henry Rodriguez and good work out of lefties Sean Burnett and Tom Gorzelanny, this bullpen is going to be absolutely loaded.

The key, obviously, will be the two guys at the end doing what they did in 2011 all over again, hopefully a little better. As long as the Nats get that, they’re going to win a lot more games than they’re going to lose.

Scouting the Hitting

The Nationals were not an elite offensive team in 2011. They scored just 624 runs, 12th in the National League, and their .242 team batting average tied them with the San Francisco Giants for the second-worst mark in the National League.

In order for things to be better, the Nats are going to need some players to stay healthy, and they’re going to need other players to step it up.

One player who has to stay healthy is Ryan Zimmerman. Last season, he was done in by an abdominal strain that cost him to miss a few weeks just when the season was getting started.

On the bright side, Zimmerman was pretty good in the second half of the season. He hit just .254 with four homers in 130 at-bats before the All-Star break. After the break, Zimmerman hit .306/.361/.460 with eight home runs. He’s capable of putting up better numbers than that, but Zimmerman did well to save face after the first half of his season was basically lost to injury.

I’m going to have more on Zimmerman in just a minute, but for now, I’ll just say that he needs to be the man in the middle of the Nationals batting order. If he stays healthy and performs the way he’s capable of performing, the Nats will go far.

Elsewhere in the middle of Washington’s lineup, the Nats are going to need Michael Morse to do exactly what he did last year, when he hit .303 with a .550 slugging percentage and 31 home runs. There’s a slight regression concern given Morse’s tendency to strike out way more often than he walks, but the raw power is definitely there. Morse’s ISO (isolated power) of .247 ranked fifth in the National League.

The Nats have to be encouraged by how consistent Morse was last season. He hit .306 with 15 homers before the break and .299 with 16 homers after the break. I recall many people were waiting for Morse to plummet back to earth, and he never did. He just kept slugging.

The Nats are hoping that Jayson Werth will get back to slugging this year. His signing was a bad idea when it happened, and Werth made it look like an even worse idea as the season progressed. A hitter as talented as him has no business posting a .719 OPS.

Werth’s struggles in 2011 seem to be a classic case of a player trying way too hard. His walk rate decreased, his strikeout rate increased and he just plain struggled to make solid contact. His BABIP was .352 in 2010. It plummeted to .286 in 2011, which had a lot to do with all the ground balls Werth hit. A guy with his power isn’t going to be good for much if he’s hitting it on the ground nearly half the time, as Werth did in 2011.

The Nats will be looking for a bounce-back from Werth, and they’ll be looking for Danny Espinosa to take the next step and just be consistent this season. He put up some impressive power numbers before the break last season (16 home runs), but he hit just .227 with five home runs after the break. Not unlike many young hitters, Espinosa strikes out way too much, and he’s only going to develop so much as a hitter as long as that’s par for the course.

According to MASNSports.com, Espinosa is going to hit second for the Nationals this season, and Ian Desmond is going to bat leadoff. If so, Desmond is going to need to do a much better job of getting on base this season, as he’s coming off a season in which he managed an OBP of just .298. In 2010, his OBP was .308.

That’s not going to get it done. Desmond is going to have to take his walks, and he’s another guy who has to cut down on his strikeouts. If he doesn’t improve, this lineup is going to suffer.

As a whole, this is not an awful lineup, but it is a lineup that will require a few hitters to step up their game. I’ve discussed the key guys in depth, but the Nats are going to need Adam LaRoche, Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina and Wilson Ramos to provide some production as well.

If the Nats struggle to hit, they’ll have to find somebody who can help out. And I think we all know who they’re likely to turn to in that situation.

Pitching Stud

He still hasn’t proven himself as a bona-fide major league ace, but Stephen Strasburg has to go here.

There are a couple things that make Strasburg scary. First and foremost is his fastball velocity, which is elite. His fastball came in at an average of 97.6 miles per hour in 2010, and it came in at an average of 96 miles per hour in his five starts last season.

In other words, Strasburg took something off his fastball, and he was still chucking it faster than 95. 

One other thing that makes Strasburg almost unfairly good is the fact that he has an array of secondary pitches he can throw, and all of them are plus pitches. His curveball (or slurve or whatever it is) and changeup in particular are deadly.

Lastly, pitchers as young and as green as Strasburg aren’t supposed to have such advanced control. I pointed out that his control was even better after he returned late last season, and that’s pretty impressive considering that control is often the hardest thing for a pitcher to reclaim when returning from Tommy John surgery.

The only thing standing in the way of Strasburg becoming an ace and a perennial Cy Young contender is health. Given the arm troubles he’s already experienced, there appear to be only two paths on which Strasburg’s career will progress: He’ll either be the next Mark Prior, or the next Justin Verlander.

For baseball’s sake, I’m rooting for the latter.

Hitting Stud

When he’s healthy, Ryan Zimmerman is the best all-around third baseman in baseball. He’ll hit for average and power, and he’ll play tremendous defense at the hot corner. It feels like there used to be a lot of third basemen who fit that particular mold, but these days, Zimmerman is a rarity.

It’s strange to think that Zimmerman has only hit 30 home runs once and that he’s only hit .300 once. You just get the sense that such numbers should be routine for him, though that may have something to do with Zimmerman’s fat new contract.

To live up to that contract, all Zimmerman will have to do is stay on the field. His natural talent will take care of the rest.

When he’s at the dish, the best way I can describe Zimmerman is to call him a pure hitter. He’s not a guy who walks too often (career BB% of 9.2), but he manages to avoid striking out too much. When he swings the bat, he swings it with authority, as he’s only posted a BABIP under .300 once, and that year, his BABIP was .295.

If Zimmerman stays healthy this season, the bar will be set at a line like .300/.375/.520 with 30 home runs and 110 RBI. If he achieves those numbers, he’ll be an All-Star and he could even find himself in the MVP discussion if the Nats win enough games.

You know what the really scary part is? Zimmerman is still only 27.

X-Factor

When he was in Philadelphia, Jayson Werth was the Phillies’ X-factor. He didn’t stand out next to greats like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, yet there he was waiting to destroy pitchers after they found their way past the heart of Philly’s lineup.

After one season in Washington, it’s obvious that Werth is a much better sidekick than he is a star. As many expected would be the case, Werth just wasn’t the same outside of Philly’s vaunted lineup.

Werth has no choice but to prove this reputation wrong in 2012 (and beyond). And to be honest, I like his chances.

I like Werth’s chances because he’s not getting nearly as much attention this year as he was last year. There’s less pressure on him to perform, which can only help given how badly he crumbled under pressure in 2011. 

All Werth has to do is dig into the box, relax and hit the ball hard. That’s what he used to do in Philly, and the numbers he managed to put up speak for themselves.

If Werth goes back to hitting like he did with the Phillies, Washington’s lineup is going to be a lot deeper and a lot scarier. If he doesn’t, he’ll be just as easy an out in 2012 as he was in 2011, and Washington’s lineup will struggle to score runs.

There’s no middle ground. Werth is either going to go boom, or he’s going to bust. Again.

Prospect to Watch

Duh.

The Nationals optioned Bryce Harper to Triple-A Syracuse a couple days ago, ending his chances of opening camp with the big club. No doubt the decision came as a disappointment to those who can’t wait to watch Harper blasting home runs at the major league level. And let’s face it, that’s all of us.

All in good time. Harper is still only 19 years old, and everyone must keep in mind that he’s only advanced as far as Double-A. He has as much talent as any prospect in baseball, but he still has much to learn.

Syracuse will only hold Harper for so long. It’s fair to expect Harper to handle Triple-A pitching quite well, and sooner or later, the Nationals are going to come to the conclusion that his talents are being wasted in the minors.

It’ll happen. When Harper gets the call to the big leagues, he’s yet another guy who will make the Nationals lineup much deeper and much more dangerous.

What the Nationals Will Do Well

All the pieces are in place for the Nats to be an above-average pitching team in 2012. They have a young, talented rotation and a bullpen that is very strong at the back end.

So here’s my gut feeling: The Nats are indeed going to be an above-average pitching team, most likely one of the best in the National League.

On offense, the Nats will conduct most of their business via the home run. They have a lot of guys who can mash, and you just get the sense that power will be infectious in this lineup. If so, the Nats will be this year’s version of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

What the Nationals Won’t Do Well

Two things worry me about the Nats.

First, the youth of this pitching staff will invariably result in some collective wildness and some inconsistency. Nats pitchers are going to walk their fair share of hitters, and there are going to be cold spells. Rest assured.

In addition, the Nats are likely going to have a hard time scoring runs when they’re not hitting the ball out of the yard. The top of their order is very weak, which will create problems for the middle of the lineup. The latter half of their order has the potential to be very weak.

Also, the Nats are going to be at best a mediocre fielding team. Zimmerman is a stud at the hot corner, but there are several weaknesses elsewhere on the diamond.

Final Thoughts

Brad Lidge made waves recently when he said that this Nationals team is the most talented team he’s ever been on.

That’s a bold statement seeing as how Lidge has played for a NL champion Houston Astros squad and a world champion Philadelphia Phillies squad.

But Lidge had a point. There is a ton of talent on this Nationals squad. They’re an up-and-comer, not unlike the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 and the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. Nobody should be surprised if the Nats win the NL East this season.

I know I won’t be. I’m picking them to do just that.

Projected Record: 94-68, first in NL East.

 

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National League East

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American League East

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American League Central

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Zachary D. Rymer is a lifelong baseball junkie with an impressive collection of Nomar Garciaparra rookie cards and a knuckleball that is coming along. He loves the Red Sox and hates the Yankees, but he has a huge man-crush on Derek Jeter and would like nothing more than to have a few beers with Nick Swisher. He’s always down to talk some baseball, so feel free to hit him up on Twitter:

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I had to laugh when I read this article about Brad Lidge claiming that the 2012 Washington Nationals are the most talented team he has ever played on.

Seriously?

I have absolutely nothing against the Washington Nationals. In fact, if you follow me on Twitter, you might remember that I tweeted a while back that I think that the Washington Nationals will make the playoffs this year. They are talented.

However, Lidge has played on four teams that were arguably more talented than this year’s Washington Nationals. I hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.

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This year the Washington Nationals are finally sporting a lineup and starting rotation that promises to compete with the perennial powerhouses of the NL East: Philadelphia and Atlanta. With the power bats of a healthy Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Morse and Danny Espinosa, along with what one can only assume will be a rejuvenated Jayson Werth, the Nationals should have no problem getting runs across the plate.

Meanwhile, with a healthy Steven Strasburg at the helm of a dominant (at least on paper) rotation of Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Edwin Jackson and John Lannan, the Nationals should have no problem being in games late, when two of the most important parts of the team come into action. 

In comes setup man Tyler Clippard. Clippard is one of the best at his role in the entire league. In the 2011 season Clippard posted an exceptional 1.83 ERA in 88.1 innings pitched while leading the National League in holds with 38. Clippard also posted an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio with 104 K’s to just 26 walks. With Clippard coming into the game in the eighth inning, the Nationals are almost certain to hold their lead going into the ninth. 

Pitchers have to be a different breed to be successful coming in as the closer in the ninth inning. Most of the time they have no room for error, meaning every pitch could be make or break.

In just two seasons in the MLB, Drew Storen has positioned himself as one of the top closers in the game. His 43 saves through 75.1 innings pitched in the 2011 season were tied for fourth in the National League. Storen also posted a notable strikeout-to-walk ratio with 74 strikeouts to just 20 walks. While the Nationals will have to hope that he can lower his ERA from 2.75 in the 2011 season to something closer to 2.00, Storen will play a huge role in any success that the team has this season.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It has been rumored in recent weeks that left-hander John Lannan may be on his way out of Washington.

Ever since the Edwin Jackson signing on February 2nd, the Nationals have had one too many starting pitchers. Generally, this is not a bad thing. The Nationals can address other needs with their excess pitching though, with Lannan generating the biggest return.

If Lannan is traded, Chien-Ming Wang or Ross Detwiler would take over the No. 5 spot in the rotation, with the other becoming the long man out of the bullpen.

The Nationals are in need of bench depth, as well as a capable center fielder. They could also choose to just trade him away for a few mid-level prospects.

Lannan has been an effective starter over the course of his career, garnering a 4.00 ERA and a 38-51 record. He has been better in recent years, becoming a guy capable of pitching 180+ innings.

As a No. 5 starter, that’s pretty valuable.

The Nationals seem to have a win-win scenario with Lannan. If they trade him, they can potentially fill a need. If they keep him, they have another guy who can give them close to 200 innings.

Whether he’s traded or not remains to be seen, but here are five potential destinations.

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