Washington Nationals Need To Find Space in Rotation for High-Upside Youngster

One of the competitions people are keeping a close eye on with the Washington Nationals in spring training is for their starting rotation.

The team has put together an impressive amount of depth as they look to climb out of the rebuild that has been going on since winning the World Series in 2019.

Heading into camp, MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin are both locked into roles atop the rotation. Trevor Williams, who re-signed with the team this winter, and free agent addition Mike Soroka have both said they were told they would be starters.

The same goes for international free agent signing Shinnosuke Ogasawara.

That is already five pitchers right there before taking into account players such as DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker, who performed well during their rookie campaigns in 2024. Cade Cavalli, Jackson Rutledge and eventually Josiah Gray are going to be options as well.

Whatever the Nationals coaching staff and front office decide, they need to ensure that Herz is on the Major League roster looking to build off his impressive debut.

He made 19 starts last year, pitching 88.2 innings and recording a 4.16 ERA with 106 strikeouts. That came out to a slightly below average ERA+ of 97, but there were several metrics that hinted his performance was better than the raw number suggested.

A 27.2% strikeout rate is excellent. His expected ERA was a stellar 3.26, and he had a SIERA of 3.77 and FIP of 3.71.

The sample size was a little small, but Herz performed at a very high level and the team should prioritize his development to see if he can keep that level of production throughout an entire season.

He performed so well that Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic (subscription required) highlighted the Washington hurler as an honorable mention when he put together his MLB All-Under-25 team.

Hertz is going to have to earn his spot on the Opening Day rotation against some stiff competition.

What could set him apart is a fastball that was one of the toughest pitches in baseball to hit last year.

He generated an impressive 30.5% whiff rate, which Ryan Pepiot of the Tampa Bay Rays and Garrett Crochett, formerly of the Chicago White Sox and now a member of the Boston Red Sox, bested amongst starting pitchers with at least 300 swings on four-seam fastballs.

Only 24 years old, Herz has a very bright future which should include a spot on the Opening Day roster.

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