The Nats Report: The Washington Nationals Stories You Missed and What’s Next

Welcome to our Weekend Wrap-Up. Whether you were on the go or missed a few updates during the week, this edition brings together the latest Washington Nationals headlines, news, and analysis all in one place. As we look ahead, here’s what you need to know to be fully caught up and ready for what’s next. Let’s get into it →

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🗓️ Stories that you might have missed this week on The Nats Report

As the first half of the season wraps up this today, the Nats are officially one win away from doing something they haven’t completed since 2019: Above .500 going into the All-Star break. The Nats have soared above season expectations this year, and hope to continue pushing forward following the All-Star break, as pressure continues to build for the front office to go in at the deadline. If they are convinced to do so, it is no secret that the Nats are simply some strong bullpen arms away from making a playoff push. It has been the same all season: Consistently a top 3 offense in the MLB with a bottom 3 bullpen. The offense is putting up historic numbers, and Nats fans must wait to see what the deadline will bring to see if it will all be for nothing or not.

Sitting at 48-48 on the year, the Nats are currently sitting at .500 and pacing way ahead of any expectations anyone had for them (for example their preseason win total was 65.5, they are on pace for 83 currently) However, despite being above average and playing shockingly good baseball, the Nats still sit at 4th in the NL East. This is not as bad as it sounds however, as the NL East is just currently soaring as the best division in baseball, with 3 teams currently in the playoff picture, and the Nats in 4th sitting only 7 games out of 1st place. The division and playoff race are wide open and up for grabs, and the Nats are ready to compete for it with all they got.

Giving some praise to the Nats who have silenced all pre-season doubters so far heading into All-Star break, there is no shortage of standout players. For example, there are 10 players in the MLB this year with 20+ HR and 60 RBIs this season… The Nats have THREE of those. No other team has more than one! Huge props to James Wood, CJ Abrams, and Luis Garcia Jr. for giving us that standout statistic. Abrams and Wood were lucky enough to be noticed and given All-Star nods for next week, where CJ will start at shortstop for the NL team, and Wood will get reps for the NL outfield.

Although the bullpen has struggled, the Nats starting pitching was expected to struggle just as bad this year. Instead, the Nats starting pitching has held their own, and even put a new ace on display this year. The pitcher needing the most appraisal going into the All-Star break is Foster Griffin. Going into the season, Pitching List had griffin as a “Tier 10 okay, this is fine” starter, ranked 78th out of all MLB starters. For a 78th ranked pitcher, he hasn’t done too bad being one of 10 MLB pitchers with double digit wins (10-2) and now becoming an All-Star. Griffin also has compiled a 2.77 ERA, 12th in the MLB and also is 9th in the MLB in WHIP. This team is full of stars, and it is up to management to pay the big bucks to keep them together and build around them, rather than selling them and ruining the potential future of the Nats.