The Washington Nationals have arguably been one of the biggest surprises in all of baseball so far this season. They will enter this weekend's series against the San Diego Padres with a 29-28 record, much better than anyone could have anticipated at this point of the season.
Many of their star young players have actually been playing and developing very well this season, with guys like James Wood and CJ Abrams taking next steps in their careers towards being elite talents. Combined with them, guys like Daylen Lile and Keibert Ruiz have also contributed a lot as secondary players in the lineup, and it is a huge reason why the Nationals have impressed a ton.
But perhaps the most encouraging development so far this year has been on the pitching side of things, where the Nationals' patchwork bullpen and rotation of misfits have actually performed quite well recently. One of those pitchers might be able to position himself for some hardware this season, and he has been an absolute gem so far in his Nationals tenure.
That guy is lefty Foster Griffin, an offseason acquisition who has surprised everyone so far this year with his performance. So far this season, the 30-year-old owns a 6-2 record combined with a 3.63 ERA and 1.13 WHIP, and also owns a 60:19 K:BB ratio. He has already been worth more than 1 WAR through 11 starts, showcasing his true value to the Nationals so far.
Out of those 11 starts, 5 of them have been Quality Starts, and it's clear that the lefty is earning the trust of the coaching staff to go deeper into games now. While he is not a typical Rookie of the Year candidate primarily due to his age, if he keeps performing like this and the Nationals keep winning, he might not give voters much of a choice regarding his candidacy.
Obviously, there are guys like JJ Wetherholt from the Cardinals, Konnor Griffin from the Pirates, and Sal Stewart from the Reds standing in his way, among others, but Griffin's case could pick up some real steam later on this season. In fact, ESPN writer Bradford Doolittle said to keep an eye on him moving forward, but did identify that those 3 players would all finish above him if voting were to take place now.
What do you think of Foster Griffin's potential chances to win National League Rookie of the Year? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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