Real or Not Real Part 2

In the previous edition of Real or Not Real we looked at the Baltimore Orioles and whether they could maintain their success or not. I came to the conclusion that due to their home run powered offense, poor plate discipline and lack of starting pitching depth they would eventually regress. Today we will look at a team that is almost the opposite of the Orioles.

Washington Nationals- 26-18 (1st NL EAST)

Since Spring Training started I have been praising this team saying that they could contend for the division title or at the very least secure a wildcard spot, and so far this season they have proved me right. The real question is can they maintain this level of success? I believe they can but there are a few issues they will need to overcome to reach the postseason.

The Offense is the weakness of the team thus far as they rank in the middle of the NL in almost every offensive category. That being said they have had to deal with a multitude of injuries early in the season. Mike Morse has not played at all this season, Jayson Werth was put on the DL early in the season, Ryan Zimmerman has been injured on and off and Wilson Ramos tore his ACL and is done for the year. Considering those guys were the Nationals four best offensive performers last season it is amazing they have been as good as they have been. Most of their offense this season has come from the resurgent Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond. So once Ryan Zimmerman is at full strength and Morse and Werth get back in the lineup this will be a much better offense. They still lack a good top of the order hitter but I would expect they will try and make a deal for one near the deadline.This is an offense that should continue to improve over the course over the season and only make this team better.

The Nationals rotation has been arguably the best in baseball this season. They rank 1st in the NL in ERA, K/9 and WAR (Wins Above Replacement) and 2nd in HR/9. They have an ace in the making in Stephen Strasburg fronting the rotation followed by dominate lefty Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Edwin Jackson and surprise star Ross Detwiler. All five of these pitchers have ERA's of at least 3.65 or below and Strasburg and Gonzalez both are averaging over 10 strikeouts per 9 innings. The Nationals have the type of pitching staff that can match up with any team in baseball. While the pen has not been as good, they have been good enough to hold leads for this dominate pitching staff and once they get Drew Storen back from the DL they will get even better.

Summary-

This is a team that has finally reached its potential and is ready to make a big postseason run. They have the pitching to carry them there and once their offense gets healthy they will be unstoppable. I am very much on the Nationals bandwagon now and am making them my pick to win the NL Pennant, so they are definitely REAL!