MLB Preview: Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals entered the 2007 with little fanfare as the team resembled the roster the Cleveland Indians had going into the movie Major League. Much like the movie, the cast of youngsters on the Nationals added enthusiasm to the team, and the Nationals were able to win 73 games and stay out of last place.

That may not sound like much of an accomplishment, but entering last season many pundits had the team losing well over 100 games. The Nationals were aided by the rejuvenated Dmitri Young who won the comeback player of the year award as he batted 320 and belted 13 homers for the Nationals.

Now it's time to take a look at how the Nationals will look like in the 2008 season.

(1) Did the Nationals improve themselves with the changes they made at outfield?

Nationals GM Jim Bowden has always had an eye for talent dating back to his days with the Cincinnati Reds during the 90's and early 2000's. Bowden was not dealt a very pleasant hand since becoming the GM of the Nationals as the farm system was empty.

Bowden started his turnover by acquiring Austin Kearns, and Felipe Lopez from the Reds, while only giving up a few arms in their bullpen. Although Lopez has been a failure, Kearns has proven to be a solid, but unspectacular major league right fielder. Bowden finished retooling the Nationals outfield this off-season as he acquired Lastings Milledge from the Mets in exchange for Ryan Church.

Milledge was once regarded as the top outfield prospect in the game, and was regarded so highly by the Mets that they refused to deal him for Barry Zito during the 2006 season. Milledge wore out his welcome in the Mets clubhouse with some of his on, and off the field antics. The Nationals are hoping that enthusiasm will be better excepted in their young clubhouse. Milledge still has no cap on his potential, and will finally get the everyday job that he's been seeking.

The Nationals also made a move to acquire another talented outfielder this off-season. The team traded a low level pitching prospect to take Elijiah Dukes off the hands of the Rays. Dukes was in the starting lineup on opening day for the Rays last season, and wowed everyone with his amazing display of power as he crushed a home run to straigtaway center at Yankees stadium.

Dukes was never able to continue that success, and ran into more off the field problems as his wife reported that he threatened to kill her. The Rays had already dealt with enough off the field distractions from Dukes that they felt it would be best for both parties if he had a change of scenery. Dukes talent is matched by very few, and if he benefits from the change of scenery the Nationals could have one of the best outfields for years to come.

(2) How will the new ballpark affect the Nationals players?

RFK stadium was regarded as one of the toughest hitters ballparks during the Nationals existence. The team now will be moving to a much more hitters friendly ballpark, and the offense should see their numbers climb as a result.

The Nationals will have to reshape their roster in future years to account for this change in venue. The team earlier could get by with a lineup full of speed as manufacturing runs became essential as the team would have difficulty hitting the long ball. That has all changed now, and the Nationals seem to be on the right track by acquiring Milledge and Dukes, both of which are blessed with plenty of power.

One National player who stands to benefit from this change in scenery is Ryan Zimmerman, Zimmerman has been a solid player since coming up in the 2007 season, but his power numbers have been affected by the large ballpark. With this change Zimmerman's power totals should increase substantially, and he may now favor comparably to the other young phenom 3b in the NL David Wright.

The one downfall with the decrease in size of the ballpark will be the effect it has on the pitching staff. The Nationals don't have a superstar in their rotation, and flyballs last year, will turn into home runs this year. It will be interesting to see just what effect the stadium has on the Nationals this season, but one thing is certain, the Nationals will be involved in higher scoring games at home.

(3) Just who are these guys?

The Nationals starting rotation is a mystery to many people around the game, in fact as you are reading this I challenge you to name one pitcher on their starting rotation?

The club will go with Odalis Perez on opening day this year, and if that sounds scary you are right it is. Perez was non-tenered by a Royals organization that is also desperate for starting pitching. As you can imagine the rotation does not get much better after Perez. The depth chart currently has Matt Chico as the second starter. Chico had an average rookie season last year as he posted seven wins and an ERA of 4.63.

The Nationals will go with castoff Tim Redding at the third slot, Redding it should be mentioned did have a solid season after being called up to the Nationals halfway through the season. It remains to be seen if Redding can keep that performance up as he struggled late last season after the league had already seen him once before.

The team will go with Jason Bergmann as their #4 starter, and don't even have a fifth starter listed on their depth chart. The Nationals best young arm Shawn Hill has been injured if he does make it up to the big club sometime this season, he represents the club's best chance to have an ace on the staff.

The 2008 Nationals will not be contenders this season, but with the development of their young outfielders and a solid performance from Zimmerman they should be able to keep paying customers to the new ballpark happy. The team is on the right track to success and will have to find some additional pitchers before they can think of contending with the beasts of the East.