For one night, the Nationals’ bullpen looked like something sturdier than a nightly stress test.
Yovanny Cruz, Orlando Ribalta and Clayton Beeter teamed up to throw three hitless innings and slam the door, a rare clean finish for a group that has spent much of the season searching for answers. It was just one game, but it was the kind of performance that made the back end of the relief corps look functional, powerful and, at least in that moment, trustworthy.
Cruz was the first name that jumped off the page. He came in and helped bail out Cade Cavalli, with a little assistance from Nasim Nunez, and his stuff was every bit as loud as advertised.
Cruz throws triple digits, but the real separator is the slider. It comes in at 90-93 and moves like a true breaking ball, not a soft cutter dressed up as one.
The pitch he used to strike out Matt McLain was flat-out nasty.
Even so, Cruz still has work to do if he wants to grow into a true closer. The fastball is electric on the radar gun, but it has not been nearly sharp enough in his two outings.
His command has been shaky, and even when the pitch finds the strike zone, it has not been fooling hitters. He has thrown 37 heaters at the big league level this season and has not gotten a single whiff.
At this point, a power sinker might make more sense than the four-seamer he is using now.
That does not change the fact that Cruz can already be a weapon in the seventh inning. His slider gives right-handed hitters fits, though lefties have caused him more trouble. A splitter could become a more useful weapon in those matchups, but the main point remains the same: the fastball has to get better if the ceiling is going to rise.
Ribalta offers a different look, and in some ways a more polished one. He does not bring Cruz’s triple-digit heat, averaging “only” 96.8, but his fastball plays much better.
His riding four-seamer produces a 28.7% whiff rate, and he uses his slider to get ahead before finishing hitters with the heater or the changeup. He has not been perfect this season, but he has been quietly effective more often than not by missing bats, limiting hard contact and throwing strikes.
Then there is Beeter, who finished the job in routine fashion despite the fact that he does not exactly inspire calm every time he takes the mound. When his command is there, though, he can look like a real late-inning weapon. He works with basically two pitches - fastball and slider - and the two tunnel well enough to make both lefties and righties uncomfortable.
His slider has been especially brutal this season, with opponents hitting .108 against it. It is a pitch he can shape and use in almost any count, and it has been good enough to earn at least a 70 grade. When hitters do get the fastball, there can still be trouble, but Beeter has leaned more on the slider lately and opponents are not picking it up.
This is not the 2015 Royals bullpen, and nobody is pretending otherwise. But Cruz, Ribalta and Beeter gave the Nationals something they have not always had: a credible way to finish games. They are not going to be perfect every night, yet outings like this one suggest there could be more of these clean endings coming if the offense gives them a little breathing room.
It is also the kind of outing that explains why Paul Toboni targeted arms like Cruz. He can come in and clean up messes, even those messy first-and-third, nobody-out situations.
And with Ben Grable also expected next year, the Nationals have a chance to turn a bullpen that has been a mess into something solid without spending a fortune. That is how you build a sustainable relief corps, and it is something Washington has been missing for a long time.
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Blake Butera has pointed to the teams approach and the need to keep competing through the bumps, but the latest loss was a reminder of the same issue that has lingered around this club. After building a 3-0 lead, Washington still watched the game slip away, with Harry Fords two-run homer delivering the decisive swing and Yovanny Cruz helping preserve it in relief in the seventh. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Just Sent Chris Hacopian A Message About His Future
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For Hacopian, the move also adds a little intrigue to what comes next. He is projected as a second baseman, but there is already at least some possibility the Nationals could try him in a corner outfield spot if that better fits the long-term plan. However they map out the fit, the assignment says plenty about how Washington views his bat and his ability to handle an aggressive opening push in the minors. [Read more 🡒]