As the Nationals’ season winds down with a bit of a whimper, I am enjoying the cooler weather and trips to Nats Park. Let’s celebrate what we have and the individual efforts that will help build the team in the future.
The team welcomed RHP Luis Perales to the show this week. Although he had a bit of a rough outing in his first start, I expect that he will be a big contributor to the pitching corps for next year.
Speaking of rough starts, Jackson Kent struggled in his first few appearances but threw a commanding game last night. He pitched 7 innings of 1 run ball and prompted the beautiful firework show that celebrated the 9-2 win over the Marlins.
Daylen Lile is having a week. Lile has been swinging a hot bat recently, hitting .429 with three home runs and nine RBIs over a recent seven-game stretch.
In last night’s win, Brady House crushed a homer over the Marlins bullpen and onto the concourse. He is thriving in his role as daily third baseman. His growth from the beginning of the year until now has been quite dramatic.
I’m sure that by now you have heard of the plan to move CJ Abrams to second base. Although CJ seems to be unhappy about the plan, it makes perfect sense. He leads MLB with 19 errors this season; his defensive play is a minus-17 in outs above average (OAA) and a minus-5 in defensive runs saved (DRS) at shortstop. Also, we have Eli Willits in the wings to play shortstop. He is 18 years old, was the 2025 #1 pick and is the Nationals #1 prospect.
Have you been to Fredericksburg to see the FredNats? I went last Sunday to celebrate my nephew’s 35th birthday. What a blast. Beautiful park and an inexpensive way to enjoy baseball. We had the Sky porch all to ourselves and for $40 a ticket we enjoyed a buffet lunch, a great game, and went home with a “football jersey.” #5 (of course). Gus, the mascot, even came for a visit.
Sadly, we are not yet the envy of sports. However, there is hope. The Washington Nationals farm system ranks #6 overall in MLB’s updated 2026 midseason farm system re-rank. The ranking is up 17 spots from previous rankings, marking one of the largest single-year jumps since MLB Pipeline began tracking all 30 systems in 2015.
Cheer for the Nats! On Thursday, I will start traveling with the team to the West Coast. Stay tuned for updates.
#thenatslady #theswarm
Leave a Reply