And so it's kind of an odd point to find a Beltway series, because it's a bit more uneven than the last few years. The Nats have lost ground, the O's have gained, they now have enough to get useful free agents rather than replacement players, and now the O's are the favorite. A lot changes in a year, and one Soto trade later.
All this said, as far as the AL East is concerned the O's have been slightly disappointing so far. Their schedule hasn't exactly helped, but Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez and Cole Irvin have skidded out of the gate after so much promise leading up to the season. Not that any of them are doing badly, though Irvin's been demoted, but Rodriguez and Henderson are taking a little longer to take to MLB opponents than previously expected. The other upsetting part is that while people like Tyler Wells, Kyle Gibson and Dean Kremer have had strong starts as of late, they haven't been as dominant as they were previously, and while it's something that can be built off of, it's not helping at the current moment. This team knew their rotation would be a bit beaten up to start the season, but after how things ended last year this is taking a bit longer to get back.
People are thankfully hitting in Baltimore, though. Ryan Mountcastle was an RBI machine last week, though he's slowed down a bit since. He still has 20 RBIs, which not a lot of people can say right now. Hays and Rutschman are hitting for contact and both have 4 homers. Mullins and Mateo both have 8 steals. Adam Frazier's actually doing well for the first time since Pittsburgh. The team is coming together, and definitely could still compete.
The Nationals, comparatively, have much less figured out. At the very least, this team has carry-over stars from last year; Josiah Gray is still the best starting option, Victor Robles is still the most consistent lineup presence. Right now Robles is hitting .300, which is rare for him, and is making up for his errors in the outfield. Gray had a very nice start tonight against the O's, but mechanically is beginning to pale in comparison to MacKenzie Gore, who's been pitching beautifully so far.
By the way, kinda funny how Baltimore is the one with the fully homegrown rotation now while Washington has 5 guys signed or traded from other markets. Just an observation.
Yeah, lots of replacement players for the Nats this year, but some, like Jeimer Candelario, Stone Garrett and Alex Call, are doing pretty well. Candelario already has 3 homers and 9 RBIs, and his making up for a quiet last few years in Detroit. C.J. Abrams still isn't hitting for contact but is speedy and efficient in the field, and that's at least something to build off. Ruiz, Thomas and Meneses are fine but could do better. Dom Smith is Dom Smith. I'm just waiting for the Nats to have an incredible power hitting first base prospect and the funniest thing ever to happen once again.
The Nats are messier, less reliable and less consistent, and while sometimes things come together, they're probably gonna lose 100 games again this year. Even the guys who they're relying on to build, like Keibert Ruiz, C.J. Abrams and MacKenzie Gore, haven't entirely convinced me yet. And none of THEM are homegrown either, so..
I think these beltway series' are gonna be one-sided for a while, in favor of the O's. I do eventually think these Nats teams could build, but they're gonna need more than other people's prospects to do so.
Coming Tomorrow- I told you not to trade for Gregory Soto and you fools didn't listen to me..
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