The Washington Nationals have given their fans a lot to feel better about lately, and it hasn’t just been the big-league club.
Yes, the Nationals swept the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend, then kept rolling Tuesday when Daylen Lile’s pinch-hit three-run homer powered a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies and pushed the club’s winning streak to four. But the bigger long-term story is what’s happening throughout the organization’s farm system.
That’s where the real optimism sits heading into next year.
Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic took a deep look at Washington’s pipeline this season, and the numbers are hard to ignore. Under president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, whose background is rooted in development, the Nationals made a major point of modernizing how the organization operates in Year 1 of his tenure. The early returns suggest that approach worked.
According to Nusbaum, the Nationals’ Class A through Triple-A affiliates posted the best year-over-year gains in several key areas, including winning percentage, home run rate, wRC+, strikeout rate for pitchers and ERA as a staff. Their BB/K improvement ranked fourth-best, too.
That kind of across-the-board jump matters. It points to an organization that isn’t just getting better in one corner of the system - it’s improving everywhere.
The pipeline itself has also climbed in updated farm system rankings, giving Washington a stronger base as it tries to move out of rebuilding mode. And the reasons behind the surge appear to go beyond talent alone.
Toboni brought in new technology that pushed the Nationals further into the modern game. The club also changed some of its pregame work and added new coaches who were more familiar with today’s style of baseball. But Nusbaum identified one change that may have mattered even more than the rest: Washington got rid of the infighting.
That was a real issue last year. Former first-round pick Seaver King, now a consensus top 100 prospect, was receiving different swing advice from different people in the organization, and the mixed messages showed up in his disappointing performance.
This year, the message is much cleaner. The Nationals now have clear instructions for how they want players to train, perform and carry themselves, and that standard applies everywhere - from Fredericksburg to Rochester to the major league club in Washington.
The franchise still has work to do before it can talk seriously about division titles or championships again. But after what happened on the farm this season, there’s real reason for hope. For the first time in a while, the Nationals look like an organization moving in the right direction.
In Other News...
Nationals Offseason Reset Starts With Two Pitchers Running Out Of Time
The Nationals offseason checklist starts in a place that has become impossible to ignore: the back end of the pitching staff. After a season in which Washington set a Major League Baseball record with 38 blown saves, the club is staring at a reset that figures to center on finding a dependable reliever who can steady games late and keep the bullpen from unraveling again.
Two arms in particular sit at the heart of the issue, even if their paths are moving in different directions. Clayton Beeter has already been shipped to the minors, while Jake Irvins season has been interrupted by injuries and uneven results, leaving the Nationals with more questions than answers as they map out how to fix a problem that became far too familiar this year. [Read more 🡒]
Yovanny Cruz Is Giving The Nationals A Bullpen Question Worth Watching
Yovanny Cruzs latest appearance gave the Nationals another encouraging look at a reliever who seems to be settling in after his stint at Triple-A. Sent down to work on his mechanics, Cruz came back with noticeably better command and a sharper feel for how to attack hitters, and Washington has every reason to keep paying attention when a bullpen arm starts pairing confidence with cleaner execution.
His outing also hinted at something new in the mix, with a different pitch giving him another way to navigate a major league lineup. Cruz kept traffic off the bases, limited quality contact and fit into a relief effort that saw the Nationals bullpen pile up four scoreless innings, leaving the club with a worthwhile question about where he fits once those mechanics keep holding up. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Prospect Choices For Fall Ball Say Plenty About Their Plans
Rochesters recent 9-8 loss to Buffalo offered a little bit of everything for the Nationals Triple-A affiliate, from a productive night at the plate to a rough outing on the mound. Riley Adams, Sam Petersen and Cayden Wallace each chipped in multiple hits and runs, giving the lineup enough punch to stay in the game even as the pitching staff worked through a tough one.
The bigger organizational tell, though, may have come with Washington sending six prospects to the Arizona Fall Leagues Salt River Rafters, a move that lines up with the clubs desire to get certain young players more reps before next season. Fall ball assignments are always part evaluation and part opportunity, and this batch of names suggests the Nationals are still sorting out which arms and bats need the most live action in a developmental setting. [Read more 🡒]