As an aftereffect of the Brandon Kintzler trade, Washington Nationals pitcher Wander Suero rejoins the team. Here’s why it is the right decision to let him pitch.
With the trade deadline passed and the calendar turned to August, Washington Nationals fans are not particularly pleased with the team’s lone move. Wander Suero could be a beneficiary of the shock move though.
By receiving Single-A prospect Jhon Romero in return for former All-Star, Brandon Kintzler, who has a club option for 2019, it’s easy to see why fans are upset.
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However, there is another effect of the trade that should excite fans. By opening up a bullpen spot, Wander Suero can rejoin the team. And he deserves to show what he’s got.
Suero, a 26-year-old signed by the Nationals in 2010, made his MLB debut earlier this year. His baseline stats of a .195 BAA and a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings are tremendous for a first-year player.
In 17 appearances out of the pen, Suero allowed zero earned runs in 13 of them. He pitched at least one inning in 14 outings and went deeper than that in seven. He topped out at 2.2 innings (28 pitches) of perfect baseball against the Mets on July 14.
Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo was quoted in an article by Washington Post beat reporter Chelsea Janes lavishing praise on Suero:
"“We felt that Suero has earned the opportunity to pitch in the big leagues. He’s shown flashes of brilliance up here.”"
While his sample in the majors is too small to reach any concrete conclusions, he is showing positive trends that play well at the major league level.
Suero is only walking three batters per nine innings, on par with his numbers at Double-A and Triple-A. His home run rate is a tick higher in the MLB (0.86) than the minors, but it’s still a solid number to post.
His cut fastball, a pitch he throws 74.5 percent of the time, is above average, according to Fangraphs.com’s pitch values. His swinging strike rate of 10.8 percent is fantastic as well. If that value stays where it is, it might improve his strikeout rate of 22.7 percent, which is below his most recent AA season (24.5 percent), and around the same as his last AAA season (22.5 percent).
Sooner or later, the Nationals will need to make long-term decisions regarding their bullpen. Kintzler was just traded, and the contracts of Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson, and Shawn Kelley expire at the end of this season.
It makes sense to get Suero acquainted with major league batters now, mainly because he has torn up the upper levels of the minors the last two years. It makes even more sense in the scenario the Nationals are removed from the playoff race by September. If he pitches well and the Nats do end up in a pennant race, all the better.
Letting Wander Suero pitch is a minuscule risk, huge reward win-win situation for the Washington Nationals. And Rizzo, as he typically does, is making the right decision.