With rosters set to expand in just two days, which Washington Nationals players not currently on the active roster are worth keeping an eye on.
The Washington Nationals are so used to cruising home in September in recent years. Now, seemingly way outside the playoff chase, they have the chance to give some younger players some playing time.
With rosters expanding, the Nats are able to carry a 40 man roster the rest of the way, including some prospects and forgotten young talent. They’ll have a chance to impress and work their way into the team’s plans for 2019 and beyond.
Don’t expect all of these players to come up right away though. The minor league season will still have a few games left, and regular playing time will still be valuable to these players while they can get it.
Usually, teams will add a lot of bullpen arms to top up a depleted bullpen and allow managers to micromanage the late game situations. If the latest series is anything to go by, Gabe Kapler is going to have a field day extending games past four hours.
But for the Nats in their current situation, it’s probably more important to keep an eye of some of the hitters and starters who may come up. These are the spots that are still up for grabs next year as the organization hopes to rebound from a disappointing campaign.
Last season, we saw Victor Robles, Andrew Stevenson, Rafael Bautista get promotions and impress for the Nationals. So who will be the main guys to watch this year? We’re gonna start with one of those names just mentioned who will be looking to come up and have an impact again.