The Washington Nationals know exactly where they need to get better, and they’re attacking it from the ground up.
After years of carrying one of baseball’s weakest pitching staffs, the organization is putting a premium on internal improvement this winter. Free-agent additions can help, sure, but the bigger swing comes from developing what they already have - and that starts with velocity.
According to Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, Washington is preparing a “strength-and-conditioning camp for minor leaguers and a detailed plan for the major leaguers” aimed at adding velocity. The Nationals believe “several players should return with more velocity” once those programs are finished.
That would be a meaningful step for a staff that has lagged behind the league in raw speed for two straight seasons. This year, the Nationals ranked No. 28 in the majors in fastball velocity at 93.8 mph.
In 2025, they were again No. 28 at 93.7 mph. That marked a drop from 2023 and 2024, when they finished No. 10 both years, averaging 94.3 mph and 94.5 mph.
Of course, harder throwing alone won’t transform the group overnight. Washington has also been near the bottom of the league in Stuff+ every season since 2022, so the issue goes beyond just radar-gun readings. Still, more velocity can open doors, and the Nationals have already seen hints of that possibility as some of the minor leaguers who spent a season in the club’s new pitching lab made their way to the majors late in the year.
The front office wants more than just arms that can light up the gun, though. President of baseball operations Paul Toboni and his staff are also trying to sharpen the organization’s overall pitch development process. As Nusbaum reported, “They hope to be on the cutting edge of pitch design.”
That lines up with the kind of operation Toboni has assembled on the developmental side. Pitch design uses data to study the shape, movement, velocity and other traits of a pitch, and that approach fits neatly with the new regime’s analytical lean.
For the Nationals, the goal is not simply to build a staff full of hard throwers. They want pitchers with deeper arsenals, especially in the bullpen, where a broader mix could make relievers less predictable and tougher to square up.
Washington is trying to overhaul the whole pitching ecosystem, not just tweak one part of it. The hope is that the winter work on velocity and pitch design pays off in a much better 2027.
In Other News...
Nationals Catching Battle Just Got More Complicated This Offseason
The Nationals catching picture already looked like an offseason issue, and Riley Adams only added another layer to it. The veteran backstop did not appear in the majors for Washington this season, but he stayed productive at Triple-A and still gave the club a familiar presence in the system as the year wound down.
Now Adams is on the market after being outrighted off the 40-man roster, leaving Washington to sort through a position that is clearly in flux. If he does not come back, the opening could push Maxwell Romero Jr. farther up the depth chart, making the next few weeks especially important for how the Nationals map out their catching plans. [Read more 🡒]
Former Nationals Are Fueling Plenty Of October Emotions Again
October has a way of turning old Nationals connections into fresh talking points, and this years playoff field is full of them. Washington fans have had plenty to track beyond their own club, with several former Nationals scattered across the bracket and wearing different uniforms as the postseason gets rolling. Luis Garcia Jr. is among the most notable names, making his first career playoff start with the Yankees, while Curtis Mead, Foster Griffin and Erick Fedde are also in the mix with their current teams.
Bryce Harper remains the biggest emotional touchpoint for plenty of Nationals followers, because every postseason he seems to find a way back into the conversation. This year is no different, with Harper once again involved in a high-stakes game that pulled the attention of anyone still keeping one eye on their former stars. For Washington, it is another reminder that even when the Nationals are not in October themselves, their recent history tends to show up there anyway. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Giving One Sleeper Prospect A Big Chance To Rebound
The Nationals are using the Arizona Fall League to give a handful of young players extra work, and Jarlin Susana heads the group as the systems top-ranked prospect headed to the desert. He will be joined by five others, including outfielder Jorgelys Mota, whose profile has quietly grown inside the organization as the club looks for more chances to see what he can do in live game action.
Mota is the kind of sleeper prospect the Fall League can be especially useful for, since Washington wants to keep building his reps after a season that was interrupted by injuries. The organization also shifted him to center field this year to tap into his athleticism, so the AFL should offer another important look at how that transition is coming along. [Read more 🡒]