In A Rotation Of Aces, Who Will Be Number One?

Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

For many Major League Baseball teams, the debate on who will be the team’s number one starter is usually between two or three players and the announcement of who will get the Opening Day nod is usually made before Spring Training. While that may be true for most teams, it is certainly not the case for the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals have the rare commodity of having four pitchers who are perfectly capable of being a number one pitcher on any staff. In Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann and newly acquired Doug Fister, the Nationals have a rotation that is as good as any in the league and has the potential to be one of the best rotations in the history of the game.

With pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training in less than three weeks, manager Matt Williams will soon have to decide who will lead his ball club into the season as the team’s ace. And with the Nationals otherworldly pitching talent, it is a decision that will likely be very difficult to make.