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We are less than a week into Spring Training, but that does not mean we cannot make some observations. There have been a few trends I have noticed through the first five games of Spring Training. With the Nats sitting at the top of the Grapefruit League, things have mostly been good, but it has not been perfect.
The Boys are Winning Ballgames:
The first takeaway from the beginning of Spring Training is that the Nats are winning! They are 4-0-1 in their first five games and are the only unbeaten team in the Grapefruit League. Of course, these games do not count, so this does not matter much. However, I like the way the boys have been fighting.
Building a new culture is a big part of this spring. It is a new regime with new ideas. We want to see that new philosophy manifest itself on the field. While these games do not count, we are seeing some promising signs.
For years, the Nats have been overly aggressive at the plate. They have not made pitchers work, and often starters can just cruise through six innings in 75 pitches or less. However, the Nats are second in the league in walks so far this spring. This probably means nothing, as it is just Spring Training but I am going to monitor this as we get into the real season.
Cutting down on chase and being a pesky lineup should be a goal for the Nats this year. You do not need to be an Aaron Judge level talent to be a tough out. If the Nats just become a pesky lineup, they could find a way to be close to an average offense this year. With James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and other young players, this lineup is not devoid of talent. They just have not had a great approach as a team. Hopefully that will change this year.
Nats Saying No to Fastballs:
In my opinion, the most consequential storyline of Spring Training so far is the Nats pitchers moving away from fastballs. We did a deep dive on this the other day, but I want to revisit it here.
Last season, the Nats were near the top of the league in fastball usage despite not really having many pitchers with dominant heaters. Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin, two guys without premium velocity, were throwing their heaters over half the time. If the start of this spring gives us a hint, the Nats will be throwing way fewer heaters. Heading into last night, the Nats were throwing fastballs at the third lowest rate of any team this spring.
This is something I love to see. I have been calling for this for a while now. We saw what happened when Kyle Finnegan cut his fastball usage when he went to Detroit. He became a much better pitcher who struck out hitters at a significantly higher rate. Cutting fastball usage has been low hanging fruit for smart organizations for years. It is nice to see the Nats joining the party.
Last season it was so frustrating to see Nats pitchers trying to establish their mediocre fastballs. Pounding fastballs that are not good was an example of the Nats outdated philosophy. It is not some magical elixir, but throwing your best pitches more often will be a helpful strategy for Nats pitchers.
This is a trend that I am confident will carry over into the regular season. Paul Toboni came from the Red Sox, who have been as aggressive as anyone in cutting fastball usage. It seems like he is bringing that trend with him to DC and I love to see it.
Defense Still a Work in Progress:
While it has been a really strong start to Spring Training, things have not been perfect. Last season, the Nats defense was really bad and that still appears to be an issue. The Nats made four errors in a game against the Phillies the other night and have been prone to mistakes early this spring.
One thing I have noticed is that the pitchers have not been fielding their position well. It is still early in spring, so I am willing to give grace. However, the Nats are going to have to clean this up as we get deeper into camp and approach the regular season.
Defense has been a major point of emphasis at camp so far. There have been many videos of Nats players working on their fundamentals and fielding ground balls. Yesterday, I saw a video of the Nats working on defense and situational plays in the main stadium.
You cannot accuse the new regime of not trying to improve the defense, but these changes do not happen overnight. Guys are also shaking off rust and have not been in game action for a long time. Errors are going to be inevitable, but I hope to see the Nats play cleaner baseball as we enter March.
Overall, I have been impressed with the Nats early this spring. They are competing hard and seem bought into the new vision. These players have a lot to prove in Spring Training, so I am not totally surprised to see them come out of the gates hot. It is just a few games that don’t count in February, but this week has me looking forward to the start of the season which is just a month away now.