After a good start last night, Mat Latos should stay in the Washington Nationals rotation for the remainder of the season
Last night, the Washington Nationals got a good start out of Mat Latos as he filled in for Stephen Strasburg’s spot in the starting rotation. The 28-year-old right-hander went 4.1 innings, gave up one run on three hits, struck out four, and walked three on only 68 pitches in last night’s 8-1 win over the New York Mets.
The reason Latos only threw 68 pitches last night was he had to leave the game due to injury. Injuries aren’t new to the Washington Nationals starting rotation lately (i.e Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross). But, it sounds like the injury isn’t serious, according to the comments made by manager Dusty Baker last night:
Dusty said Latos had some "hamstring tightness" that cramped up. Did not seem overly concerned.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) September 13, 2016
After a rough first inning, Latos responded well as he gave up two hits over the final 3.1 innings and struck out all four batters. Two of the four batters he struck out came via the spliiter. Plus, he did a good job of pitching with a lead despite only throwing 11 first pitch strikes to the 19 batters he faced.
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With Strasburg out of the rotation for the time being, Latos needs to stay in the starting rotation for the time being, if he is healthy. He brings a veteran presence to the back end of the rotation, has familiarity with Dusty Baker from his time with the Reds, and he is capable of putting up a good month (4-0, 1.84 ERA in April).
On the plus side, it allows Baker to try out Reynaldo Lopez out of the bullpen and see what potential he has there. Last night, in the three innings he pitched, Lopez dialed up his fastball to 100.2 miles per hour, according to Brooks Baseball. He did have some wild command at times, but he was able to shut out the Mets offense.
Since Lopez and Lucas Giolito have struggled to find consistency at the Major League level, it makes sense to use Latos in the starting rotation for the time being as the team inches closer to clinching the NL East title. If one of those young starters can flourish out of the bullpen, it gives them an opportunity to make the postseason roster.
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Latos is the piece that the Washington Nationals needed as he provides veteran depth to a rotation that now has its fair share of injuries. Despite the injury last night, the right-hander was able to show off his home run hitting with his fourth career home run and provide some form of consistency at the back of the rotation along with A.J. Cole.