Washington Nationals: 3 to watch as Nats head West

Edwin Jackson

After struggling with the Orioles and eventually being released at the beginning of this season, Edwin Jackson signed a minor-league deal with the Nats, providing some pitching depth. Now, that deal will pay off.

Joe Ross is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, so he is out for the year. Jacob Turner has dealt with control issues lately, A.J. Cole hasn’t impressed in the majors, and Erick Fedde and Austin Voth aren’t big-league ready yet. After eliminating all those guys, you are left with Edwin Jackson.

Jackson, who was a member of the Nats’ 2012 rotation, is a decent option to pitch in the back-end of the rotation. He is a veteran with lots of major-league experience, 15 seasons with 12 organizations to be exact.

Although Jackson can be a bit erratic at times, he is a quality starter when at his best. He won’t be an ace, but he can be a solid fifth starter.

After pitching to a 7.20 ERA in three games with the Orioles earlier this season, Jackson has impressed in AAA Syracuse. In five games (four starts), he has pitched to a 0.44 ERA.

If Jackson is going to be successful, he must limit walks. In Syracuse this season, he had a 4.43 BB/9, which is high, even for him. His BB/9 with the Nats in 2012 was 2.75 and his BB/9 over the course of his entire MLB career is 3.57. You can get away with allowing too many walks in Syracuse, but that will not fly in the majors.

In 11 games against the Angels throughout his career, Jackson has pitched to a 4.01 ERA. Unfortunately for him, seven current Angels have at least a .300 batting average against him. However, you can’t read too much into that; the most at-bats any of those players have against Jackson is 11, so it’s a small sample size.

Jackson has put together a decent career as a journeyman, and has returned to the Nationals after five years. It will be interesting to see how he fares against the Angels tonight in his first start of the season.