Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
With this being my first year as co-editor here, I was excited to see what the Washington Nationals were going to be like in 2015. First, I wanted to watch Bryce Harper and see the talent he had. Then, the team went out and signed Max Scherzer to be the ace of a talented rotation.
Both of those players did not disappoint. Harper went on to have a MVP season and prove he is not the most overrated player in the sport. Plus, the now 23-year-old showed a great deal of maturity this season, both with his plate discipline and his leadership in the dugout. He was able to stay healthy and contribute every single day. It makes you wonder what kind of season he would have had if the players that were protecting him in the order, such as Ryan Zimmerman, stayed healthy.
As for Scherzer, while it will come at the cost of losing one of the franchise pitchers in Jordan Zimmermann, he lived up to the $210 million contract in year one. He provided numerous historical moments this season, whether it was his two no-hitters (one near perfect game) or his 16-strikeout, one-hit performance against the Brewers. Despite having some rough patches in July and August, he still finished fifth in the NL Cy Young Voting and had three complete games.
Even though the Nats have some moves to make to improve the team, fans still know they have a MVP at the heart of the order and a leader at the top of the rotation that should lead to success in the short term for this franchise.
- Ricky Keeler, Co-Editor
Next: Mike Rizzo