Washington Nationals: Breaking down the fifth starter candidates

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The Washington Nationals have made two big upgrades to the top of their rotation, but the fifth starter spot is still very much up in the air this winter.

Last season for the first time in a long time, the Washington Nationals starting pitching was not one of the biggest strengths of their team. Now, with four-fifths of their prospective rotation locked in, we look at some of the potential candidates for the final spot.

Coming into the season off a stellar 2017 year the Nationals had arguably the best rotation in all of baseball. However, inconsistencies, injuries, and just overall poor performance set the group back in a big way last year.

The Nationals knew they had to make some changes this offseason, and brought in lefty Patrick Corbin and righty Anibal Sanchez to attempt to upgrade their rotation back to its 2017 form. With a top three of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Corbin you could once again make the argument Washington has the best rotation in all of baseball, but there is still one uncertain element.

The fifth starter spot held the Nationals hostage last season, and once again they will most likely come into Spring Training with it unclear as to who will man down that role. We saw the likes of Jeremy Hellickson, Tommy Milone, Austin Voth, Erick Fedde, and Joe Ross all attempted to stick as the fifth starter, but for one reason or another, couldn’t hold it.

Despite having no clearcut favorite for the job with a month until pitchers and catcher report, there are some intriguing options as to who could wind up as the Nationals fifth starter. So let’s take a look at who could win the fifth starter job this spring.

1 – Joe Ross

Our first candidate and probably the frontrunner for the job at this point is right-hander Joe Ross. Since being acquired in 2015 Ross has posted some solid production for the Washington Nationals.

In his rookie year, he appeared in 16 games and posted a 5-5 record with a 3.64 ERA In 2016 Ross started 19 games with a 7-5 record and an even better 3.43 ERA The Nationals had high expectations for Ross in 2017, as he earned a spot in the rotation, but things did not go as planned.

The San Diego native struggled greatly in 2017 posting a 5-3 record with a 5.01 ERA in just 73 innings. As if things could not get worse, Ross was injured and forced to have Tommy John surgery, keeping him out for the rest of 2017 and almost all of the 2018 season.

When he returned in September of 2018, Ross was fairly solid in his three starts and showed some flashes of what he was back in 2016. The biggest question for the Nationals and Ross this spring is was his poor 2017 performance a result of being hurt, or will it become a trend?

Now, although Ross wasn’t a world-beater in 2015 and 2016, but he was a very good backend of the rotation guy, and that is all Washington needs. If they could get his production from those years out of anyone in their fifth starter spot the team would be well on its way to compete for a World Series title.

As it stands now, Ross seems to be the favorite for the job, and coming into spring training I would say it is his job to lose.

Chance Joe Ross is the fifth starter: 50%

(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

2 – Erick Fedde

Our second candidate for the Washington Nationals fifth starter role is third-year man Erick Fedde. While he may be an outside bet, he’s shown flashes in his big league career that may give him an opportunity in Spring Training.

Last season Fedde got his first real taste of the major leagues and went 2-4 with a 5.54 ERA in 11 starts. Now if you just look strictly at the numbers, you would believe that Fedde had a pretty poor year, but his stats are a bit misleading.

If you watched Fedde pitch last season you saw things that impressed you. His movement and velocity with his fastball were encouraging, and when he had his changeup and slider working as secondary pitches he was hard to hit.

It is clear Fedde has great stuff, but the key for him is his control. He walked at least one batter in 10 of his 11 starts and walked 22 total batters in 50 innings. On the flip side, he struck out at least three batters in all but two of his starts and struck out 46 in his 50 total innings.

By these numbers you can see that Fedde has swing and miss stuff, it is just about getting his control down and not giving batters free passes. For Fedde, Spring Training will be huge, as it will give him a chance to show if he can get his command under control.

In all likelihood, Fedde is chasing Ross as the frontrunner for the job, so it will take an impressive spring from him to show the Nationals he is the guy they want.

Chance Erick Fedde is the fifth starter: 35%

3 – The Field

After Ross and Fedde there are not too many options the Washington Nationals have for the fifth starter spot, but there are a few guys who could shock us this spring and claim the role.

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The best bet out of any long shot would probably be Henderson Alvarez. The former Miami Marlin last pitched in the big leagues in 2017 for the Philadelphia Phillies, where he appeared in only three games. Battling his way back to the big-leagues, Alvarez got a spring training invite from the Nats.

It remains to be seen what his stuff will look like this spring, but he was an All-Star in 2014 for Miami so you never know if he will be able to regain his old form. Look at Nationals new starter Anibal Sanchez who revived his career last season and looked back to his old self. Every year there seem to be two or three pitchers who make it back to the big leagues and have success again, and there’s nothing to say Alvarez won’t be that guy.

After Alvarez, another name to look out for would be Austin Voth who got some time in the big league with the Nats at the end of last season. He was able to bounce back from a woeful 2017 season last year and if he can continue to refine his craft, he will be solid rotation depth at the very least.

Another avenue to consider would be Washington bringing in a current free agent to compete for the job. Don’t rule out a possible reunion with Jeremy Hellickson if both sides are able to agree on a cheap, one-year deal. Although you can never rule it out, it seems unlikely Alvarez or Voth would win the starting spot this spring unless something for-seen happens in the near future.

Chance someone from the field is the fifth starter: 15%

Next. Looking ahead at the Nats' 2019/20 FAs. dark

There’s no doubt the Washington Nationals rotation must improve greatly in 2019. Hopefully, one of the options mentioned above will regularly give them a chance to win, which is all you can ask for from the final rotation spot.

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