It shouldn’t be a surprise for fans of the Washington Nationals that pitching has always been the team's cornerstone; however, over the past few years, the pitching staff has, let’s say, been less than stellar. But with the 2024 MLB season already past the quarter mark, the Washington Nationals’ pitching rotation has been sneaky good so far. Yeah, it surprises me as much as many observers in baseball.

According to FanGraphs, the Washington Nationals pitching rotation ranks second in the NL with a 6.3 WAR which trails the Philadelphia Phillies. The Nationals are also hovering in the middle of the pack in Major League Baseball with a team of 3.75 ERA.

If you consider the improvement this team has made in pitching overall from last year, it had the second-worst pitching team with an ERA of 5.02.

With the combination of good young pitching arms and a nine-year journeyman, the National's pitching rotation has been downright impressive. The big surprise this year so far has been the improvement and performance of RHP Trevor Williams.

The right-hander has a perfect record of 4-0 with an eye-popping low ERA of 1.94 in his eight starts with the Nationals. Williams has only given up 11 hits in 41.2 innings, only allowed nine earned runs, and has given up. Wait for it … ONE home run so far. Yes, that’s a pretty good record. Additionally, the 32-year-old right-hander has a 1.2 fWAR, which ranks him tenth in the NL for that stat. Above him are pitchers Dylan Cease, Ranger Suárez, Tyler Glasnow, Zack Wheeler, Shota Imanaga, Hunter Greene, Chris Sale, Logan Webb, and Javier Assad. Williams is with some good company, that’s for sure.

But Williams is not the only pitcher helping this impressive Nationals pitching staff. Thanks to LHP MacKenzie, Gore is showing why the Nationals traded for him along with CJ Abrams, Luke Voit, Robert Hassell III, James Wood, and Jarlín Susana for Juan Soto in 2022. The 25-year-old southpaw has struck out 51 batters over 40 IP, tied for 13th in the NL, and has an ERA of 3.38 in his eight-game appearances.

When Gore faced what could be the best lineup in baseball in the Los Angeles Dodgers back on April 25th, he pitched 6.0 innings, giving up only one run on seven hits, striking out seven, and pitching a career-high of 102, with 66 of them being strikes.  Yeah, Gore has lived up to the hype so far, and it does make sense why the Nationals included him in the Juan Soto trade.

RHP Jake Irvin is another pitcher who has contributed to the Nationals’ success on the mound so far this season. The 27-year-old right-hander is 2-3 with a 3.55 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 45.2 IP (eight starts) for the Nationals to start the year.  Even in his last start for the Nationals, Irvin set a new career-high in innings pitched during his latest start, going seven frames for the first time. He struck out six without issuing a walk.

Now, that’s without two pitchers that the Nationals were counting on being part of the pitching rotation: RHP Josiah Gray and RHP Cade Cavalli, who are currently working their way back from the IL and hopefully will be joining the team shortly so things could be getting even more interesting.

The Nationals' starting rotation hasn’t only been the team's highlight; the Bullpen has also been extremely great. Anyone who has watched the Nationals over the years would know that the Bullpen has always been well, considering, to say least; however, this year, it seems to be a different story. Thanks to Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Derek Law, and the gang, the Nationals’ bullpen has been impressive. Entering yesterday afternoon's game against the Chicago White Sox, Kyle Finnegan was tied for the lead in all of Major League Baseball with 13 saves and is tied for fifth among National League relievers with a .138 opponents' average.

Before yesterday’s game, relievers such as Hunter Harvey, tied for the Major League lead with 14 holds, led the National League (T5th in MLB) with 10% inherited runners scored (1-for-10). His 26 strikeouts are tied for sixth among NL relievers.  Dylan Floro is fourth among MLB relievers with a 0.44 ERA and is sixth in the National League with a .197 opponents' slugging percentage...He is amidst a 16.1 scoreless innings streak, the longest active streak among MLB relievers and the longest on the Nationals this season. Robert Garcia is tied for second in the National League with 11.1% inherited runners scored (1-for-9).  Derek Law's 26 strikeouts are tied for sixth among National League relievers.

Let’s not forget some of the Nationals prospects waiting in the wings, such as RHP Jackson Rutledge and RHP Joan Adon; the Nationals are on track to once again make their pitchers the cornerstone of their franchise's future.

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