The offense for the Washington Nationals is in a bit of a rut at the moment. After sweeping the Cincinnati Reds and losing a hard-fought series to the Chicago Cubs before getting swept by the New York Mets over the weekend, the Nationals dropped their series opener to the Texas Rangers in embarrassing fashion.
I actually had the pleasure of being in attendance last night in Arlington, and simply put, the offense of the Nationals was nowhere to be seen. They were shutout in the 5-0 loss, and hopefully will have more left in the tank as I head back to Globe Life Field tonight to see Cade Cavalli take the bump with the Nationals looking to even the series.
Rookie starter Jackson Kent struggled mightily in his second career start, as the Rangers hit him hard early and often as he struggled through command issues. Watching a young homegrown arm struggle early on reminded me of another former draft pick that recently made headlines. While Kent will surely be fine and iron things out, the same can't really be said for the other guy who has been in the news.
Former National Jackson Rutledge headed to Japan after MLB struggles
For 2019 1st-round pick Jackson Rutledge, his current tenure in the majors is over with for the time being. Coming out of San Jacinto JUCO, Rutledge was selected 17th overall by the Nationals in the same year the team won their first World Series title, and a lot was expected for the towering 6'8" righty who could touch upper 90s with ease.
Unfortunately, it never quite materialized for Rutledge at the big-league level, and over 71 career appearances for the Nationals over parts of 4 seasons, he owns a brutal 6.29 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. He still has the distinction of making it to the highest level in the world, but he'd probably be the first to tell you that it didn't quite pan out the way he wanted it to. After coming up as a starter, Rutledge was moved to the bullpen last year to try and help out his career, but he faced equal struggles in the new role as well after some initial success.
Rutledge is now headed overseas to sign with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. In theory, he will be hoping to take a career path similar to that of Foster Griffin, who flamed out quickly after being a 1st-rounder himself, went to NPB to work on his game, and came back to the US and made this year's All-Star team before being traded to the Guardians.
Just because things didn't work out for Rutledge his first time around in MLB doesn't mean that he won't get another chance. He has the draft pedigree and potential to turn himself into a reclamation project for another organization later on down the line, but the time in Japan might end up being very beneficial for him in the long run. Here's to Rutledge's next chapter, and wishing him nothing but the best!
Do you think Jackson Rutledge will eventually be able to return back to the United States and make the big leagues? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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