After winning a National League-best 98 games in 2012, the Washington Nationals have stumbled to a 31-31 start this season, due in part to injuries to their top two young players.
Bryce Harper, who got off to a phenomenal start, hasn't played since May 26 after suffering a knee injury and landing on the disabled list. Prior to that, Harper was by far Washington's best offensive player, hitting .287/.386/.587 with 12 home runs.
Stephen Strasburg missed his last start and he, too, wound up on the DL with a strained right lat muscle. Strasburg, despite holding a record of 3-5, has a 2.54 ERA and good walk and strikeout numbers, though he's not punching out batters at the same rate as a year ago.
The update on those two is promising, says Jared Book of SB Nation's Nationals community Federal Baseball. For that, and more, check out the Q&A session below. And, don't forget to check out my answers to Jared's Rockies-related questions.
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Bryan Kilpatrick: The Nationals, as a team, have a .291 on-base percentage. How likely is that figure to stay that way? And, if it doesn't improve, can this team still find ways to win as the season goes on?
Jared Book: I would figure that this will not last much longer. It is a major reason for the Nationals' sluggish start so far this season. If it doesn't improve, the team can probably still find a way to hover around .500 because their pitching is so strong, but if it doesn't improve drastically, it will mean a very disappointing season because there is no chance that the Nationals will be able to catch up to the teams ahead of them.
BK: Jordan Zimmermann is awesome. He never allows walks or hits, but he also doesn't strike out many batters. What's the secret to his success?
JB: Zimmermann is the only Nationals starting pitcher to really build on his success last year except for maybe Ross Detwiler, who is currently on his way back from injury. Zimmermann has really improved his control. His walks are down from last year and he is allowing a lot less solid contact from hitters. Ground balls are up, which is a sign of him being on his game, and infield pop ups are up while fly balls are down. He doesn't need to strike out players to succeed because the contact he's been allowing has been so weak. It also allows him to go deeper into games which has been necessary, especially his start in the first half of the doubleheader on Sunday.
BK: Can you give us general health updates on Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg?
JB: Not horrible. Both are expected back relatively shortly and Strasburg is probably ahead of Harper. The team has been infamously careful with Strasburg and from his early departure in his last start to him taking a trip to the disabled list, the situation is mostly labeled as precautionary. He threw a bullpen yesterday and should be good to go when he's eligible to come off of the DL or not long after.
Harper has more question marks. What was supposed to be swelling and bursitis has not really healed the way it was supposed to and he's
getting a second opinion. The team is calling it protocol but there's an air of mystery surrounding it which is a little bit concerning considering he had been the best hitter on the team, if not the National League, before he started to struggle with injuries.
BK: Assuming they'll need it down the stretch, what kind of help is available in the Nationals' farm system?
JB: Honestly? Not much else. The team has called up six rookies in the last couple of weeks. From Nathan Karns, Erik Davis and Ian Krol on the pitching side to Anthony Rendon, Jeff Kobernus and Chris Marrero on the offensive side, there isn't much immediate help.
Ross Ohlendorf and Chris Young are notable veterans in Syracuse who can provide spot starts if need be and Christian Garcia really made some noise at the end of last year and is rehabbing right now as well. Once guys like Detwiler, Strasburg and Harper come back from injuries, some of these rookies will go back down and provide some more depth.
BK: What's your prediction for this series?
JB: I will expect the Nationals offense to continue their strong play from the doubleheader on Sunday and playing at Coors should help that. With the Nationals' probables being up in the air right now due to injuries, rainouts and doubleheaders, all I will say is this: the Nationals need to continue winning series to climb the standings so I will go in that direction.
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Probable pitchers
Game 1: Tuesday, June 11 at 6:40 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports)
Dan Haren (4-7, 5.45 ERA) vs. Jhoulys Chacin (3-3, 4.59 ERA)
Game 2: Wednesday, June 12 at 6:40 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports)
Ross Ohlendorf (4-4, 7.77) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (7-3, 3.38)
Game 3: Thursday, June 13 at 1:10 p.m. MT (no TV)
Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.59) vs. Jeff Francis (2-4, 6.30)
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