Nats Family Report
Zach Brzykcy RHP | Cole Henry RHP | Jorge Lopez RHP | Jackson Rutledge RHP |
Cade Cavalli RHP | DJ Herz LHP | Shinnosuke Ogasawara LHP | Eduardo Salazar RHP |
Jose Ferrer LHP | Jake Irvin RHP | Mitchell Parker LHP | Michael Soroka RHP |
Mackenzie Gore LHP | Andry Lara RHP | Evan Reifert RHP | Mason Thompson RHP |
Josiah Gray RHP | Derek Law RHP | Orlando Ribalta RHP | Trevor Williams RHP |
Opening Day Roster Predictions - Pitching Staff
It’s nothing more than an exercise in fun, semi-informed conjecture to think about the Opening Day roster on the day when pitchers and catchers report. There are always injuries, pleasant surprises from someone who wasn’t really on the radar, and usually a disappointing spring performance from a pitcher or two whose expectations were higher. But let’s take a peek at what the Nationals’ Opening Day roster might look like on Opening Day. For the purposes of this exercise, we are only considering players currently on the 40-man roster - apologies to Brad Lord, Tyler Stuart, Joan Adon, Clay Helvey and a few others who are certainly possibilities depending on how the next six weeks unfold.
Starting Pitchers (highlighted in bright green)
This is pretty easy - at first. Jake Irvin is almost certainly the Opening Day starter, presuming a healthy spring. Gore seems a shoo-in for the roster. Hertz has a chance to become a top-flight starter. Nats Family Report (NFR) believes that the final two spots of the starting rotation will be completed with the low-risk, veteran options: Mike Soroka and Trevor Williams. Yes, this means that a very successful Mitchell Parker probably starts the season at AAA, but he has proven he can be effective as a mid-season call up, and he may well get that opportunity again. Cavalli, Rutledge, and Lara are all tempting, but there’s no reason to rush them. Josiah Gray is the wild card. It seems reasonable that he would benefit from a long runway to a major-league starting spot, so we expect him to also start the season at AAA to complete his comeback.
Bullpen Pitchers (highlighted in dark green)
We are using the assumption of a 7-man bullpen, and there are only a few “automatics”. Derek Law and Jose Ferrer have spots for sure, and we think Ogasawara’s versatility makes him a lock. The Nats signed Jorge Lopez hoping he will again be the All-Star he recently was, so he seems almost certain. We don’t know a lot about Evan Reifert, but he is a Rule 5 draftee. And much like with Nunez last year and Thad Ward the year, we expect Reifert to be given every chance to stick with the big club. Eduardo Salazar and Mason Thompson round out our selections, primarily being the biggest “known quantities” and leaving the younger prospects to gain more seasoning in the minors.
Check back at the end of the week for our roster predictions for position players!
Related Posts
Get to Know Us
The #1 topic of conversation in our household is Nationals baseball. We talk about the lineups, which players are on fire or struggling, Nats' minor league prospects, today's opponent, etc. We thought, "what better way to expand our love of the Nationals than to share our passion with all of you!". Thanks for joining the family!