Washington Nationals: Wander Suero Deserves a Roster Spot
Washington Nationals pitcher Wander Suero achieved success in the MLB last season, and he deserves a second opportunity despite having strong competition.
One Washington Nationals player that gets lost in the bullpen conversation is Wander Suero.
Last season, Suero pitched to the tune of a 3.59 ERA, including 8.87 strikeouts per nine innings and a 0.76 home runs per nine innings in 42 innings pitched.
After succeeding at Triple-A in 2017 and 2018, we shouldn’t be surprised at how well Suero pitched.
In two seasons at Triple-A, Suero pitched 59.1 innings and recorded a 2.28 ERA along with an 8.8 K/9.
What makes Suero so valuable to the Nats is his versatility. The most significant factor is his ability to pitch multiple innings.
Only nine times out of Suero’s 40 appearances did he fail to record more than two outs.
With right-handed relief pitchers such as Brandon Kintzler, Ryan Madson, Greg Holland, and Shawn Kelley out of the picture, there is a potential opening for Suero in the bullpen.
Despite the additions of Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough, there is still room for Suero in the bullpen.
Suero finished the 2018 season brilliantly, and he deserves a chance to continue his success into 2019.
When Suero got called up for the final time on July 31, he recorded a 3.06 FIP from that point until the end of the season.
As of now, the “locks” for the bullpen appear to be left-handed pitchers Sean Doolittle and Matt Grace, and right-handed pitchers Rosenthal, Barraclough, and Koda Glover and Justin Miller when and if they get healthy.
More likely than not, one more lefty will get the final spot. The prime candidate right now is Vidal Nuno. That leaves Suero as the odd man out.
However, Suero deserves to be on the Opening Day 25-man roster, and the solution is to remove Miller.
Miller struggled mightily in the second half of the season. His 3.65 ERA looks good on the surface, but his 6.00 FIP is downright awful.
Last year, we detailed some reasons why Miller was so poor down the stretch. You can read that article by clicking here.
Next. Explaining Justin Miller's Drastic Collapse. dark
Despite lacking experience, Suero has a particular set of skills, skills that will make him a nightmare for people that oppose him. He deserves a spot in the bullpen on Opening Day.