The Nationals’ bullpen has been a mess for most of the season, with an ERA north of 5 and a staggering 35 blown saves. But in the last couple of weeks, Washington has started to get a different kind of look from three homegrown relievers who have all made encouraging early impressions.
Erik Tolman, Jared Simpson and Jack Sinclair are still at the very beginning of their major league runs, so nobody is rushing to hand out long-term labels yet. Simpson and Sinclair have only appeared once each, while Tolman has had enough work to start building a real case.
Tolman has been the most convincing of the group so far. Through his first five big league outings, the 27-year-old lefty has thrown 6.2 scoreless innings and struck out eight. Even better for Washington, he seems to be sharpening as he goes.
His latest outing showed exactly why the Nationals are intrigued. Tolman entered with the bases loaded and nobody out in the eighth, then punched out a hitter and induced a double play to escape the jam.
He returned for the ninth and struck out the side. That is about as clean a rescue act as you can draw up for a rookie.
The stuff has backed up the results. Tolman’s fastball sits at 97 MPH and gets on hitters quickly.
Once he has them thinking fastball, he can turn to an 85 MPH changeup that leaves them lunging out front. Against left-handers, he also mixes in a slider.
Command was supposed to be the concern with Tolman, especially after his minor league track record. Instead, he has walked just two batters so far in the majors.
If he strings together a few more outings like this, he could put himself in position to claim a spot in the 2027 bullpen. The raw stuff is real, and the control has been better than expected from the former 14th rounder.
That same theme runs through the other two arms as well. All three were late-round picks, all three came with command questions, and all three have thrown strikes early on.
Simpson has battled strike-throwing issues throughout his baseball life. The progress has come this year, but he is still walking more than five batters per nine in the minors.
None of that showed up in his debut. The lefty from Iowa attacked the zone with his four-pitch mix: a four-seamer, sinker, splitter and slider.
The sinker, in particular, has been a major development this season and a big part of his breakout.
Like Tolman, Simpson was dropped into a tough spot. He made his MLB debut against the top of the Braves lineup with runners on first and second and nobody out. He answered by getting a double play and a flyout.
And then he kept going. Simpson got nine outs while facing just eight batters.
At first, he was leaning on contact, but as he settled in, the strikeouts started to show up. He finished by striking out the final two hitters he faced.
Sinclair was the latest of the three to debut, and he got a softer landing than Simpson. He entered with Washington already trailing 5-0, but that did not make the first matchup any easier because Max Muncy was waiting to start his major league career.
Sinclair outlasted Muncy in a 10-pitch battle and finished him with his signature sweeper. That pitch is going to be a big part of his mix, but he has more than enough velocity to work with, too. His sinker reaches 96 and his four-seamer can touch 99.
After a breakout 2024 season in AA, Sinclair struggled in Rochester last year. This season, his ERA sat around 4, but he was missing bats in bunches, and his 3.65 FIP offered more encouragement. With the Max Kranick experiment not working out, the Nationals decided to give Sinclair a shot.
He rewarded them with a 1-2-3 inning in his debut. The former 16th round pick looked the part.
There is still plenty to prove with all three pitchers, but the early returns are useful. At the very least, Tolman, Simpson and Sinclair look like legitimate depth pieces who can get outs at the major league level. To win permanent jobs in the bullpen, they will need to keep building on this start.
For now, though, Washington has reason to believe it is finally beginning to add some useful bullpen depth from within. The path has not been pretty, but these three under-the-radar arms give the Nationals something to work with. And if Paul Toboni can find a closer this offseason, the bullpen could take a big step forward.
In Other News...
CJ Abrams Still Has One Big Nationals Question Hanging Over Him
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The more immediate spark came from Jack Sinclair, who was called on for his Major League debut and handled the eighth inning cleanly. Washington ended up on the short end of a 5-3 loss, but nights like this still matter for a club sorting through its pitching future, especially when one arm is trying to settle in and another is just arriving on the scene. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Suddenly Face A Bigger Shohei Ohtani Concern Than One Missed Game
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Shohei Ohtani has now missed three straight games because of arm discomfort, and his absence is becoming harder to frame as a simple day-to-day issue. His status is still unsettled, which leaves the Dodgers balancing the short-term push for wins against a much bigger concern about what comes next for one of the sports most important players. [Read more 🡒]