Four Predictions for the Second Half of the Nationals' Season

The Nationals have had a rough first half of the 2023 season. Yes, maybe they are not quite as bad as the Oakland A's, who were on pace to be the worst team in baseball history, like many thought they would be, but they currently are the 4th worst team in baseball and are just 2.5 games ahead of Colorado for the worst record in the National League.

For the optimists out there, you could say that the Nationals are on pace for 65 wins, which would be a 10 game improvement over last year's club. I think a lot of that has to do with the revised schedule where MLB teams have more diverse opponents as opposed to a littany of games within their own division, a place where the Nationals have not excelled in recent years. It is also due to MacKenzie Gore and a much better, All-Star even, Josiah Gray leading the rotation. Regardless, 10 games better is 10 games better. We will see if they can keep up the pace.

But the MLB season has a way of exposing teams. 162 games is no small task and even coming off a week-long break, the Nationals, like every team, will have to face the heat of the dog days of summer; the stretch of July and August where players tire, roster changes are made, and the motivation you once had at the start of the season gets tested or fades completely. The last two seasons we have seen the Nats collapse in August, and they weren't necessarily good before then either. That could be in part due to the major sales at the deadline that included Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and Juan Soto. While they won't move another major star like that, there could be more Nationals about to be shipped out that might lead to more August struggles. We'll predict that and more in our Four Second Half Predictions for the Nationals.