2026's rookie class is gonna be one of the strangest in some time. In addition to the J.J. Wetherholt, Konnor Griffin, Kevin McGonigle and Spencer Jones sect, people who SHOULD be debuting this year, we have Andrew Painter, who should have been up 3 years ago, and Foster Griffin, who technically had a rookie season in 2022, but didn't fulfill enough innings to meet the official requirement, then went off and pitched in Japan for 3 years, came back and seems to be the only person in the Nationals' rotation who's doing what he's supposed to. Grouping Griffin, who's THIRTY, in with that group is...odd. It's why I don't like the service time schtick that's lumped Randy Arozarena and Luis Gil into rookie categories when they honestly had the stats necessary to be counted as veterans. What Foster Griffin is doing this season isn't exactly rookie material, in the same way that what Munetaka Murakami's material isn't technically rookie material.
But...this is their first clear sample size in the MLB, so we go with it.
Griffin, through 10 starts, is 5-2 with a 4 ERA and 54 Ks. He also has a 1.179 WHIP, which is the lowest in the rotation. Aside from Cade Cavalli, who's been decent with a 3.86 ERA and 61 Ks, Griffin is head and shoulders above everyone else with a job. Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell are both failing to keep runs down, and at least with Mikolas he has the excuse that he's 37. Jake Irvin's still waterlogged from 2024 it seems, with a 5.79 ERA in 10 starts. They really should be starting Andrew Alvarez but they seem afraid to for some reason, and they're more prone to try out the opener bullshit and waste Richard Lovelady there rather than keep him for the save, which he's far better at. So much in this pitching staff makes absolutely no sense that the mere presence of a 30-year-old rookie ex-pat pitching the best out of everyone is even harder to believe.
Shame, because the lineup can actually hit this year. They've gotten to a point where if something isn't working, they do away with it, which they weren't always at liberty to do [at least with the hitting; doesn't explain why Mikolas is still here]. lady House wasn't working, so Jorbit Vivas and Luis Garcia are getting the reps at third. Joey Wiemer went cold so Dylan Crews gets another shot. The working model now includes Australian corner guy Curtis Mead manning first, and he's got 4 homers and 16 RBIs already. Daylen Lile, though lacking in triples, has 14 doubles, in addition to the 7 homers and 26 RBIs. Nasim Nunez leads the league in stolen bases with 21. Jacob Young and Jose Tena are slowly heating up. And...this team still very much belongs to James Wood and C.J. Abrams. It's not a perfect lineup, but it's got more angles than past iterations.
At least they've got that. At least they're hitting this year. Because it really is down to Foster Griffin to keep the pitching in line, and after 2024, where it looked like the future is bright with Parker, Irvin and Herz, that's insanely depressing.
Coming Tomorrow- Last year, unexpectedly, he went from 'decent homegrown option' to 'one of the best infielders in the game'. Where's he gonna land this year?
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