Feels Good when all those hours previewing teams pay off!!! BANG BANG BANG. Here was my preview before the year. Most of it was spot on! LETS GO!!


Washington Nationals:

Last Years Record: 82-80
Run Differential: +89

This years Win Total 88/89

Not usually do you see a team with a +89 run differential only 2 games over .500 but thats exactly what happen to the nationals last year. Part of that could be attributed to the 4-10 extra innings record or the 18-24 record in one run games. One thing to keep an eye on is the nationals went just 18 and 28 vs Left handed starters. Like the Braves the 9-11 inter league record should improve drawing the AL Central rather than the AL East like last year. So on the surface it definitely looks like the nationals should improve despite losing Bryce Harper.

Pitching Staff- A big addition in terms of landing Patrick Corbin who seems to just be settling into his prime. This guy might be the most underrated arm in baseball. Everything has been trending in the right direction with him the last three years. Corbin supported a 1.05 WHIP and a 3.15 ERA last year. Without getting too analytical - Corbin's xFIP was 2.61 while his ERA was 3.15 suggesting he was actually even better than his 3.15 ERA. If Corbin takes any type of stride forward small or large LOOK OUT. This staff of Corbin, Mad Max, and Stras is going to be a three headed monster assuming Stras can stay healthy.

The lineup is solid top to bottom. Trea Turner, Adam Eaton, Rendon, and Soto provide a great core at the top. Zimmerman provides a solid veteran presence and If the Brain Dozier addition pays and Robles (the highly touted prospect) can chip in this lineup is going to be very solid top to bottom. Another addition that i like is the Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki additions. You add a couple of veteran catchers that can contribute offensively and defensively. Gomes is incredible defensively. It may not seem like much but a couple veteran catchers like these two can boost the club in a big way.

The bullpen- A solid closer in Doolittle of course. And Justin Miller & Matt Grace provided nice years last year. Rosenthal will be an x-factor. If he can return to form after the injury he will be a big boost to this club.

All in All I look for the Nationals to improve upon last years disappointing season. No Bryce Harper shouldn't be an issue. I actually think it could help this team as the spotlight always seemed to be on him and to be quite frank he hasn't been nearly as good as you would think given his household name. He only carried a 3.5 WAR (fangraphs) and posted a .247 average with a 24% K rate. He did provide power and drove in runs but it seemed like in big spots Harper always seemed to let the team down. I think moving on from Harper will be the best thing for the Nats. Assuming he doesnt come back which he still could.

The play for me and this mainly is based around the addition of Patrick Corbin is Nationals over 88 wins. This team is one of the better teams in baseball still and i look for them to be in a divisional fight with the braves down the stretch and eventually win it. Ill wait and hope Harper signs with the phillies and i can get a better line on the Nationals Win total Over shop for an 88 but either way i like it over! Its also going to be hard to keep me off that divisional price for them if i can find a +300 or better(again will wait and hope Bryce goes to philly). If the stars align with Brain Dozier, Victor Robles and Rosenthal this year i can see this team winning the NL East, NL Pennant, and World Series. After all-- Scherzer, Corbin, and Stras wouldn't be an easy out in a long series.