How About Them... Washington Nationals

Hopefully, a regular segment in which I analyze where a certain team is headed and how I think they will perform in the immediate future...

The Washington Nationals. Cellar dwellers for a number of years, these not so lovable losers haven't had a winning season since they called Montreal home. In fact, the last successful season that franchise saw was in the strike shortened 1994 season. That's not to say they haven't developed and possessed a multitude of talent over the years. Potential Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez, Vladimir Guererro, and Alfonso Soriano have all been Nationals/Expos at one point in their careers.

The move to Washington was supposed to breathe fresh air into the franchise. A huge market and a wealthy fan base was expected to lead to increased revenue and support. A brand new riverfront stadium was expected to draw fans in the millions. Sadly, neither has happened. The local fans have been apathetic toward the team and the stadium is boring and poorly located. The Nationals have finished in last place in 5 out of the 6 years of their existence and have been frequent owners of the worst record in baseball.

With that dreadful distinction, however, comes the joy of having extremely high draft picks. While the MLB draft is by no means as reliable as other professional sports drafts, every year a small handful of players are labeled as can't miss prospects. Enter, Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. Strasburg, the dominating righty from San Diego, showed flashes of brilliance as a 22 year old last season before being shut down to have Tommy John surgery. Harper, a hot hitting catcher, has been compared to some of the best hitters in the game and was featured on a Sports Illustrated cover before graduating High School. While it's questionable as to whether or not either of them will see the field in 2011 (Strasburg is likely out all season and Harper may need a year of minor league seasoning), the draft has done very well for the Nationals looking forward.

But, Washington has also focussed on the free agent market pretty heavily this offseason. Where they got the sudden influx of money remains a mystery to just about every baseball authority, but they signed Jayson Werth to a ridiculous $126M deal, and while they ultimately failed, they had their hands in the pot for both Cliff Lee and Zach Greinke. Trade rumors as recent as last week had them talking deals for guys like Fausto Carmona and Grady Sizemore. They replaced Adam Dunn with Adam Laroche and signed a multitude of veteran role players (Matt Stairs, Jerry Hairston Jr, Rick Ankiel, etc).

Add to the mix a handful of decent players spearheaded by perennial All-Stars Ryan Zimmerman and Ivan Rodriguez. Sprinkle in a solid player like Ian Desmond and guy loaded with potential like Nyjer Morgan. Their pitching staff isn't nearly as bad as they've performed. Livian Hernandez, John Lannan, Jason Marquis have all had successful MLB seasons in the past, and guys like Tom Gorzelanny and Jordan Zimmerman have shown they have the skills but just lack the fine tuning. The back end of their bullpen is expected to be anchored by Drew Storen and Chien Ming Wang.

Don't get me wrong, they won't compete for the playoffs in 2011. But the Nationals aren't THAT bad. I predict an improvement upon their 69 win season of 2010 and wouldn't be surprised to see them reach .500 for the first time since 2005.

82-80, 3rd place in NL East