Good Morning, Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, April 15.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here. Happy Jackie Robinson Day! Let’s talk about Mitchell Parker getting the call and the weekend series against the A’s!

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: Parker to make MLB debut tonight

Mitchell Parker, the Nats Report No. 24 prospect, will make his MLB debut tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Nats added the left-handed pitcher to the 40-man roster over the offseason, but they will still need to make a corresponding move for him to join the team. So far this season, the former fifth-round pick made one start, striking out five batters over four innings.

Parker has a solid fastball despite its lower 90s velocity that he pairs with a curveball, splitter, and changeup. In 113.2 innings in Double-A last season, Parker walked 11.1 percent of the batters he faced. That’s been the issue that limits his prospect pedigree, but he showed positive strides in a limited ABS Triple-A sample.

Now he will take on what many consider the most stacked team in the majors and try to outduel Tyler Glasnow, who has pitched like a top 10 pitcher in baseball so far this season. Best of luck Mitchell!

Nationals to call up LHP Mitchell Parker and will bring Catcher Drew Millas along with him.

Richard • Apr 15, 2024

After dropping this afternoon’s game against the Oakland A’s, X was a buzz with some moves that might be coming as early as tonight or tomorrow, as the team is set to face the Los…

Read full story →

Drew Millas will come up with him, with Keibert Ruiz potentially retroactively heading to the injured list as he has missed the past five games due to the flu.

Nationals lose series 2-1 to Oakland A’s

Wow. The Nationals offense could muster only four runs in the first two games. MacKenzie Gore is the only reason they won that Saturday game with his five-inning, 11-strikeout performance.

And it’s hard to not be frustrated with the team. Many fans expected this team to hang around or improve upon their win total from last season. Losing two of three in Oakland does not inspire confidence in that happening. While some of it can be chalked up to small single-game samples or bad luck or whatever, there are glaring issues with how the lineup is being constructed and how the bullpen is managed.

In the lineup, we continue to see Joey Meneses hit in the heart of the order despite his .523 OPS this season and his .707 OPS over the past 707 plate appearances.

Lane Thomas, who looked like a potential long-term piece for the Nationals after a hot first half last season, has cooled off significantly. Statistically speaking, Thomas has been at his worst hitting behind CJ Abrams. I don’t know if it’s an approach thing or trying to do too much to drive him in or let him take his steals, but Thomas is a .205/.251/.377 hitter when he bats second since 2023. Over that span, hit hit .317/.368/.527 in any other lineup spot. Now these aren’t the greatest sample sizes, as 359 and 391 plate appearances spread across two seasons is not some decisive sample, but there is enough of a discrepancy here where we can draw a decent conclusion.

Is a .268-point difference in OPS not enough for you? Well, Thomas also walks less and strikes out more in the two hole. He is hitting for less power overall, with a .172 ISO when batting second and a .210 ISO when hitting anywhere else.

Manager Davey Martinez is also holding Luis García Jr. down in the order. Did you know García is tied for third for the most doubles in baseball? The offensive breakout we have waited for is finally here, but García still finds himself on the bench against left-handed pitching. Until the team is winning games and García’s bat against lefties is holding them back, why not just let him play every day?

Before yesterday’s game, four pitchers had not seen action in the previous four days. When Trevor Williams turned the ball over with runners on, you’d assume Martinez would look to one of these guys to 1) keep arms from being overused early on and 2) get guys action to stay locked in. Instead, Martinez went to Derek Law. Hindsight is 20/20, but why not go to Floro, Barnes, or Willingham, who had not thrown in almost a week? Bullpen management has always been a weakness, but when things blow up like they did in winnable series like this, it gets frustrating.

Down in the Minors

Featured Stories of the Day

Rockies closer out for the year via MLB Trade Rumors

James Wood, now or later? via TalkNats

White Sox close to signing OF Pham via MLB Trade Rumors

If you haven’t already, please consider supporting this publication with a paid subscription so you don’t miss a thing.

The Nats Report is an independent reader-supported project with both free and paid subscriptions and not affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster our independent coverage of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball.