An Unofficial Washington Nationals Support Group.
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 […]
Last year the Washington Nationals had one pitcher who was the story of camp, and that was Brad Lord. After a breakout year in 2025, Lord showed up to camp with increased velocity and earned a spot on the big league roster. It looks like lightning may have struck twice because Riley Cornelio is following […]
We have stressed all offseason that the battle for spots in the Nationals bullpen is wide open. That means we could have some surprise contenders pitch their way on to the roster. One player who made a strong first impression is Bryce Montes De Oca, who struck out the side in his first outing of […]
Jake Irvin fired two scoreless innings in his first start of the spring. That should be good news, but the start made me more bearish on the right hander. This is due to his drop in velocity. He only averaged 90.3 MPH on his 4-seam and 91.1 MPH on his sinker. This continues an ongoing […]
For years, league wide fastball usage has been on the decline, as after decades of being used over 60% of the time by pitchers, it dropped below 50% in 2022, and even lower to 47% by 2023. The biggest proprietor of the change in fastball usage has been the introduction of Statcast to Major League […]
2026 is a massive year for Brady House’s development. He is entering the season as the undisputed starter at third base. For that to be the case again next year, he is going to have to make big improvements with the bat. His first game of Spring Training was a major statement, with the 22 […]
One of the biggest competitions we will see this spring is behind the plate. Top prospect and new Nat Harry Ford will be battling it out against Keibert Ruiz at camp. We will see who comes out on top, but for my sanity, I really hope it is Harry Ford. It would be the best […]
Baseball is back and the Washington Nationals have come out on top not once, but twice. The team had a split squad double header today, where half the group went to Jupiter to face the Cardinals, while the rest of the team stayed in West Palm Beach to play the Astros. Both teams won, with […]
Baseball is back, which means it is time for game threads. Here at Federal Baseball, we do game threads for every regular season game and will do some for Spring Training as well. It is a space for you guys to follow the games and comment your thoughts. Last year, we got hundreds of comments […]
Washington Nationals baseball is back folks. After six long months, the boys are back in town. It will be a much different vibe from the last time we saw the Nats play though. At the end of September, they were at the end of a long and unsuccessful slog. Now, they are at the start […]
Towards the end of the offseason, Paul Toboni went on a spree of waiver claims. In particular, he added quite a few bullpen arms to the mix. With the number of guys he got, odds are that at least one of them hits and makes an impact for the team. I took a look at […]
In 2026, the Nats are not likely to make a ton of progress at the MLB level, at least when it comes to wins and losses. However, we should see Paul Toboni’s new plan lead to quick results at the minor league level. The Nats have several breakout candidates in their system. One of them […]
Fangraphs recently released its top 100 prospects list for the 2026 season, with 3 Nationals appearing on the list, Eli Willits at 15, Jarlin Susana at 29, and Harry Ford at 74, with Travis Sykora just missing the list and being in their next 10 off at 109. Yesterday, they released another prospect ranking, this […]
This time of year, there are always a few young players across the league that get contract extensions. Teams try to buy out a few free agent years at what they think will be cheaper costs, while players get long term security. Bobby Witt Jr., Jackson Merrill, Kristian Campbell and Keibert Ruiz are all young […]
The first piece of Nationals related content I saw was DJ Herz doing some throwing. This is great because it shows he is making progress in his Tommy John recovery. However, what interested me was the black band on his left elbow. Herz is not the only pitcher to be wearing one of these bands. […]
Yesterday, Fangraphs released their top 100 prospect rankings. It is always interesting to see their rankings because they are not afraid to go against the grain. Eric Longenhagen always does a great job over there. At least when it came to Nats prospects, there were not any massive surprises. Eli Willits was ranked as the […]
If you have followed the Nats at all over the past couple years, you would know that James Wood is not the most emotional guy. He is not one of those players that wear their heart on their sleeves. Wood is what you would call a slow heartbeat guy. However, Wood wants to make it […]
After signing Cionel Perez a couple days ago, the Nats picked up another veteran reliever on an incentive-laden minor league deal. This time Paul Toboni and the Nats picked up Drew Smith, who was a mainstay in the Mets bullpen for a few years. From 2021 to 2024, Smith featured prominently in the Mets bullpen, […]
If this article is your first time hearing of Julian Fernández, I can’t blame you. The 30-year-old right-handed reliever was acquired in August off waivers from the Dodgers, and in 12.2 innings pitched with the Rochester Red Wings, he posted a 7.82 ERA and 5.47 FIP. He made his Nationals debut at the end of […]
The Nationals finally made a free agent signing to their bullpen, bringing in Cionel Perez on a minor league deal. This is different from the other minor league deals they have signed, as Perez has a good chance of making the team. Before a disastrous 2025, Perez was a mainstay in the Orioles bullpen. If […]
Last July, the Washington Nationals made Eli Willits the youngest first overall pick ever. With more famous prospects like Ethan Holiday and LSU ace Kade Anderson available, it was a bit of a risky pick. However, after a strong pro debut, Willits’ stock is higher than it was on draft day. Despite ranking behind Holiday […]
The college baseball season starts today, which means it is officially draft season. I wanted to highlight a few college prospects that could be available for the Nats to select with the 11th pick. It is supposed to be a very good draft this year, so the Nats will have plenty of options. We have […]
Cade Cavalli made his long-awaited return to the big league mound in August 2025, and in his 48.2 innings pitched, he flashed brilliance, posting a 95th percentile chase rate, 95th percentile barrel rate, and 93rd percentile groundball rate. Outside of a disastrous outing against the Yankees in August, where he allowed 7 earned runs over […]
Every year, teams have non-roster invites to Spring Training. They are a mixture of prospects who are not on the 40-man roster and veterans trying to fight their way on to the roster. The Nats have found some gems among their pool of NRI’s the past couple years. In 2024, Jesse Winker was a non-roster […]
Yesterday, Paul Toboni finally made a move in the rotation. Bringing in Miles Mikolas on a one-year $2.25 million deal is not exactly what fans were dreaming of, but it is a move. With Mikolas highly likely to be in the rotation, I wanted to take a look at what the Nats pitching staff could […]