Washington Nationals: Grading April's Performance

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After one of the hottest months in team history, what grades did the Washington Nationals earn in April? How would you grade them?

The Washington Nationals end April with a five-game lead in the National League East over the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies. Not shabby with a bullpen full of questions.

The Nats start May with a historically powerful offense and a starting rotation that is one of the best in baseball. At 17-8, they carry the best record in Major League Baseball. FanGraphs now projects Washington to win 93 games and the division by 12 games.

This has been an impressive month. The offense averaged 6.88 runs a game!

The turn of the calendar is as a good time as any to see where the Nationals are as a team. A monthly report card if you will.

As with the rest of Washington, there are extremes on both ends of the scale. Either players are performing out of their minds or scrubbing the stink of failure off in the shower. Average is not something found in the vocabulary, at least not right now.

Even the brainy kids in class coveted all those A+ grades while we smiled at our B’s and C’s. My school gave out report cards every six weeks, enough to cause heartburn if things did not go well.

With baseball season being six months, we will hand out six report cards. Grading is subjective. After watching nearly every pitch of the season, there is enough of a guide to see how well they are doing.

Sadly for Adam Eaton, this is his final report card. His ACL injuries will knock him out of the rest of the regular season. It would take a minor miracle to have him ready for the playoffs. We hope he is ready for West Palm Beach next spring.

Let’s see how the Nats grade this month. Not like there are any surprises here.

INFIELD

For our purposes, we are talking the four Opening Day starters and not the bench and Wilmer Difo.

With Anthony Rendon’s Sunday display of production, the entire starting offense has an OPS+ over 100. As a team, it is 129. Drop the pitchers and it is 138. The team is 35 percent above average in production compared to the rest of the NL.

That production starts with Ryan Zimmerman. His OPS+ of 243 leads the team. A .420 batting average, 11 home runs and 29 RBI—in 24 games—will do that. If Zimmerman continues to produce at this level, he would record the sixth-highest OPS+ in history. Ahead of all but one year of Babe Ruth’s career. (1920)

Trea Turner returned from the disabled list to hit for the cycle against the Colorado Rockies. Red-hot, he pushed his average up to .317 and has an OPS+ of 134. His seven doubles came on 66 at-bats.

Daniel Murphy picked up right where he left off last year. His nine doubles, five home runs and healthy .343 batting average gives him an OPS+ of 151. His on-field leadership adds intangibles not found on Baseball Reference. On a team of leaders, Murphy is among the highest.

Although Rendon struggled early, he had a better April than last year when he had a single RBI. His 10-RBI barrage bumped his batting average to .278 and the OPS+ to 103. The lowest numbers of any qualified starter. His d-WAR of 0.5 leads the team

As a unit, A+ all around. No four players could have performed better.

OUTFIELD

Adam Eaton counts here. Michael Taylor will not as we are focused on the three starters.

Bryce Harper lifted the team onto his shoulders right from Opening Day. His 32 runs are a franchise record, amazing since he hits third. His .391 batting average, 9 homers and 26 RBI would lead most teams, yet they are behind Zimmerman with the Nats. He lays off pitches outside the strike zone, walking 22 times.

His OPS+ of 232 is incredible and his defense improved from last year. Everything you hoped Harper would do has. He posted an OBP of .509! If that somehow held, he would bump Rogers Hornsby’s 1924 season out of 15th all-time. Just three scant points behind Mickey Mantle’s 1957 in 14th.

In the short time Eaton roamed center, Spanky or Mighty Mouse stole the hearts of fans and teammates alike. Moved to the leadoff spot when Turner hit the DL, Eaton was an on-base machine. He drew walks and stole bases. From his top of the lineup perch, he drove in 13.

Defense was the question mark for Eaton after his trade from Chicago. BBRef lists him as the team’s worst defender at -0.6. Yet, it is hard to think of him costing the Nats a win.

Jayson Werth continues to dazzle at 38. With 20 hits, a .282 batting average and 115 OPS+, you cannot expect more.

A+: Harper

A: Eaton

B+: Werth

CATCHER

Matt Wieters is a pleasant surprise for the Nats.

Signing after the start of Spring Training, Wieters looked over matched early in the season, but he settled in and has played well offensively. With 11 walks, two intentional, and a .301 average, he has nine extra-base hits and an OPS+ of 144.

For a bottom of the lineup hitter, those are impressive numbers.

The pitch framing we were promised has yet to materialize. Throwing out base stealers does not happen as 10-of-11 have swiped bases. His nine percent pales to the league average of 26.

Still, he has learned his new pitchers quickly and is rarely shaken off. Gio Gonzalez uses him on his starts and has worked well. You can quibble of Wieters is worth $10 million, but he has done everything asked and more.

Jose Lobaton? Not so much.

Reduced to a pure bench player and helmet-lifter after home runs, Lobaton has hit poorly, .095, not thrown out many base runners and has a dreaded error. At least he does not have eight wild pitches on his stat sheet like Wieters.

With an OPS+ of eight, he is keeping Pedro Severino’s seat warm.

A: Wieters

D-: Lobaton

STARTERS

With Max Scherzer’s stress fracture, Stephen Strasburg pitching from the stretch, Tanner Roark not pitching at the World Baseball Classic, there were plenty of reasons to worry coming out of Florida.

Our concerns were misplaced.

If you thought Gio Gonzalez would lead the staff in ERA, you are lying. Gonzalez pitched in the Grapefruit League with renewed confidence and that continued once the season started. Instead of nail biting and five-inning starts, he pitches into the seventh, is 3-0 and has an ERA of 1.62.

It is great to see his pitches bite and for him not to labor. The 1.140 WHIP is too.

Strasburg’s decision to throw exclusively from the stretch is wise. Able to hurl his fastball around 97, he mixes his offspeed pitches well and is comfortable letting hitters make contact. The proud papa has a WHIP of 1.000 and still averages 8.0 K/9. His maturation from a thrower to a pitcher works.

In all five starts, Strasburg pitched seven innings.

Scherzer is known for pitching deep, allowing solo bombs and striking out hitters by the metric ton. This season is no exception. His WHIP of 0.980 leads the team, along with 40 strikeouts. Allowing a stingy 6.4 hits-per-nine, he stalks the mound like a tiger preys.

Roark does not have the sizzle of his fellow starters and has not pitched as deep, but he is 3-0 with a WHIP of 1.180. Location of pitches is not as sharp, but he holds his own on the hill.

Joe Ross is a concern.

Starting the year in Syracuse, he has three starts under his belt since his recall. Somehow, he has a win mixed with an ERA of 7.47. A WHIP of 1.532 and the lack of ability to pitch past the fourth inning has stymied Ross. The slider refuses to and his fastballs move too much.

A+: Strasburg, Gonzalez

A: Scherzer

B: Roark

F: Ross

Expelled: Jeremy Guthrie

BULLPEN

You are supposed to read 200 words, at least, on every slide.

We do not need that many to say how utterly awful the bullpen is.

The colossal failure to get clean innings or close down games is the dirty secret everyone knows. The pen allowed 14 home runs in April. And, the four losses charged are more than the regular rotation lost in the month.

Only Matt Albers and Oliver Perez have ERA’s under 4.00. Injuries shut down Koda Glover and Sammy Solis. Blake Treinen’s confidence is gone, kaput. He pitches with runners on base with the confidence of a petrified public speaker and the speed of a frozen slug.

Joe Blanton’s ERA is 9.90. That is higher than the cost of a beer from a vendor.

They cannot possibly remain this bad. When Glover returns, he rejoins Shawn Kelley as joint closer. How the get the game is another story.

We knew the pen coming north was a work in progress. When the work actually progresses, we hope before October.

A: Albers

B: Perez

C-: Kelley, Glover

D: Enny Romero

F: Blanton, Treinen, Solis

DUSTY AND THE BENCH

The Nationals have the biggest lead and best record in baseball. Give Dusty Baker credit for holding things together.

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Sure, he can make head scratching decisions. Cannot anyone get three outs in the ninth inning? How do you bat Michael Taylor second? Washington is second in the NL in saves with eight and Taylor had three hits hitting second.

Between a rocky series in Philadelphia and the Mets implosion in DC, Baker has steered his ship to a record inconceivable three weeks ago. His lineups are so powerful they are historic. His are the hands you want on the wheel.

As far as bench production, Adam Lind has fit in. With 10 hits and two home runs, he can pinch hit and fill in for Zimmerman when needed.

Wilmer Difo will be a good player someday. His defense is already there. Filling in for Turner, and Stephen Drew when he went down, Difo did an adequate job and learned a ton.

Taylor struggled before his surprise promotion to the starting lineup. Fast as anything, his defense is solid.

Chris Heisey has been unspectacular, but has started a scant two games.

Next: 5 Great Dustyisms From April

A+: Baker

A: Lind

C: Difo, Heisey

D: Taylor

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Washington Nationals: Grading April’s Performance