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Back in January, I expressed grave concern over the state and direction of the Washington Nationals. They’d followed their World Series title with four straight last-place finishes, jettisoned most of their good players, and watched a series of prospects flame out. It wasn’t just a matter of waiting for Dylan Crews and James Wood to hit the majors; I argued that Washington needed to build a foundation of strong supporting players. Wood and Crews could be the difference between the Nats winning 80 games a year and 90, but if the infrastructure wasn’t ready, they’d turn a 70-win team into an 80-win team. And at that point, why did we even bother?
I’m pleased to report that the Nationals — no doubt sobered and inspired by my pessimistic appraisal of the situation — have answered the call. They don’t stink anymore. I don’t know if they’re good right now, as 38-41 and fourth place in the division isn’t exactly reminding anyone of the Big Red Machine. But on the journey from cheeks to championships, mediocrity is the first waypoint. Besides, with the NL Wild Card race being what it is, the Nats look like they’re going to be within a couple games of a playoff spot halfway through the season.
This growth hasn’t really been the result of roster turnover. Several Nats players have themselves gone from terrible to OK, or from OK to actually good. CJ Abrams is having a breakout year. MacKenzie Gore has been solid. Kyle Finnegan — unprecedented walkoff pitch clock violation notwithstanding — is having one of those sneaky good closer seasons that’s propped up fantasy teams since the 1990s.
Here’s another one: Jake Irvin. Last year, Irvin posted a 4.61 ERA and 5.30 FIP in 24 starts. I’m operating under the assumption that Irvin and the Nats were running some kind of experiment to see how long a starter could survive in 2023 with a K/BB ratio under 2.0. This year? Irvin has reshuffled his repertoire and cut his walk rate in half, and as a result, he’s taken a run and a half off his ERA.
The big difference in terms of pitch type for Irvin is that he’s added a cutter, giving him three different fastballs: four-seamer, sinker, cutter. You’d be forgiven for looking at Irvin and thinking that this is a prime Lance Lynn situation — he is a large, hirsute fella, listed at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds. Irvin matriculated at the University of Oklahoma, where I’m told it’s common for such a large individual to be referred to as “a hoss.”
But Irvin isn’t spraying three different fastballs to every hitter. Whereas last year, he used both his four-seamer and sinker to both left- and right-handed hitters, this year Irvin has one secondary fastball for each batter’s box: sinkers to righties, cutters to lefties. And you can see why, because a big part of his problem last year was lefties absolutely teed off against his sinker.
Jake Irvin’s Secondary Fastballs to Lefties
