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Washington Nationals: Ranking The Bullpens In The NL East

By Ricky Keeler

Oct 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Shawn Kelley (27) pitches during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Washington Nationals relief pitcher Shawn Kelley (27) pitches during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

With the Washington Nationals not signing a premiere closer, where does their bullpen rank among the others in the N.L. East

Today, we continue our look at the National League East heading into the 2017 season by taking a look at the bullpens. The Washington Nationals bullpen looks the same as last year minus the closer as Mark Melancon is now with the San Francisco Giants.

One of the toughest aspects of the game to predict every year is how a bullpen will do. One year, a bullpen might be fantastic, but it might struggle the next year regardless of the talent a team has in the ‘pen.

If you go off of last season’s numbers, there were three National League East teams that finished in the top ten in bullpen ERA in the NL (Nationals, Mets, and Marlins). With that being said, ERA is a tough stat to go off of because a pitcher might come in and give up inherited runs for a starter.

Now, if you want to go by strikeouts, there were also three NL East teams in the top five in that category in the league (Marlins, Mets, Braves were second, third, and fourth). As for the Nats, they had the lowest strikeout total in the NL East (13th in the NL).

Right now, heading into 2017, the NL East has mostly the same closers as it did last year on Opening Day. The only difference is Jim Johnson is the new projected closer in Atlanta and the Nats still don’t know who their closer is going to be yet.

So, without further ado, here is how I would rank the bullpens in the division. If you want to share your rankings, please feel free to share them in the comments section.

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