Harper will be an integral part of a strong Washington team in 2013.
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Washington Nationals ā Ā Predicted Finish:Ā First Place, NL East
For my money, the Nationals are not only the best team in the NL East (even with the Bravesā adding Justin Upton), but in all of baseball. This is not an East Coast Bias, as I live on the West Coast and am a fan of the defending World Series champs, but the Nationals are really good.
They had baseballās best record in 2012 and have the tools to be right back in that spot in 2013. Now, a big strength of the Nationals is how deep they are so from a fantasy perspective, they lack the same āWow factorā at the top that you see from teams like the Angels or Tigers. But top to bottom, this team has people who will contribute to your fantasy team. Letās take a look.
Nationals Offense
Player Name | Pos. | Age | Hand | AB | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG. |
Denard Span | CF | 29 | L | 575 | 94 | 4 | 49 | 24 | .280 |
Bryce Harper | LF | 20 | L | 611 | 108 | 27 | 86 | 25 | .301 |
Ryan Zimmerman | 3B | 28 | R | 535 | 86 | 21 | 84 | 4 | .286 |
Adam LaRoche | 1B | 33 | L | 525 | 74 | 23 | 81 | 1 | .257 |
Jayson Werth | RF | 34 | R | 505 | 63 | 15 | 71 | 10 | .269 |
Ian Desmond | SS | 27 | R | 520 | 55 | 15 | 57 | 22 | .277 |
Danny Espinosa | 2B | 26 | S | 553 | 72 | 18 | 59 | 21 | .237 |
Kurt Suzuki | C | 29 | R | 390 | 38 | 5 | 39 | 2 | .238 |
Crackerjack Fantasy Options:Ā Harper and Zimmerman are the two who I have the most confidence in, but everyone else (other than Suzuki) should be considered. This lineup could be shuffled in many different ways, which will really impact the player values. Letās take a closer look at some of these guys.
- Span:Ā A nice stolen base guy. He wonāt do much in the power department but he wonāt drain your average, either. If he does stay at the top of the order (which he should), heāll score plenty of runs.
- LaRoche:Ā See his section later.
- Werth:Ā Injuries scare me here. I also donāt know what kind of average to expect, as Werth is as likely to hit .240 as he is .300. The Nats have a crowded outfield but with his contract, he should stay in the order.
- Desmond:Ā He had a career year in 2012. Thatās great, but it was almost too good. Granted, shortstop is a thin position, but looking for another 20/20 year while threatening .300 canāt be expected again.
- Espinosa:Ā Good power and good steals from the second base position. Injuries havenāt been a concern here, which is why I am projecting as many at-bats from him as guys batting ahead of him in the order. But heās not a good average guy, unless the lineup gets shuffled a little bit moving Desmond to the top, his numbers in RBI and runs scored will suffer, which hurts his fantasy value in a big way.
Nationals Pitching:
Role | Player | Age | Hand | IP | BB | W | K | SV | ERA | WHIP |
1 Starter | Stephen Strasburg | 24 | R | 185 | 53 | 18 | 215 | 0 | 2.87 | 1.09 |
2 Starter | Gio Gonzalez | 27 | L | 201 | 82 | 17 | 195 | 0 | 3.09 | 1.19 |
3 Starter | Jordan Zimmermann | 27 | R | 190 | 40 | 14 | 170 | 0 | 3.17 | 1.13 |
4 Starter | Dan Haren | 32 | R | 195 | 34 | 13 | 160 | 0 | 3.55 | 1.21 |
5 Starter | Ross Detwiler | 27 | L | 175 | 58 | 11 | 111 | 0 | 3.65 | 1.24 |
Closer | Rafael Soriano | 33 | R | 66 | 23 | 2 | 71 | 43 | 2.73 | 1.14 |
Crackerjack Fantasy Options:Ā Everyone listed.
This pitching is seriously phenomenal. Every one of these pitchers has value that goes beyond a spot start against a bad team in a pitcherās park. I will say that Strasburg scares me a little bit.
Donāt get me wrong, he has all the potential to be the best pitcher in baseball and Iām projecting great numbers for him. But the Nationals have really babied him throughout his career. Clave has pointed out that they had a similar count on Zimmermann, whoās had similar issues basically one year ahead of Strasburgās. Following that logic, Strasburg would get around 200 innings in 2013. I canāt completely argue with that, but Iād like to make a few points.
One, while they had big plans for Zimmermann, nobody with the Nationals ever viewed him the way they view Strasburg. Two, in 2011, the Nationals did keep Zimmermann limited, but that team wasnāt a playoff contender. The 2012 Nationals were the best team in baseball (they dominated the World Series champs during the season), so shutting down your ace is a sign that youāre really scared of something happening. Mind you, I am not saying that you shouldnāt take Strasburg, but when the preseason rankings come out and you start to see where heās falling, Iād wait on him for an extra round.
Before moving on, I should mention the closer situation. Soriano should be the closer, especially with the struggles that Tyler Clippard and Drew StorenĀ had a season ago, especially in the playoffs. Soriano appears to be the best man for the job, but that will be something to monitor in Spring Training. The man who wins this job could well lead the league in saves next season.
Fantasy Star:Ā Harper
This was a bit of a contest but no player on this team gives solid contributions in every category like Harper does. He simply doesnāt have a weakness. I normally am hesitant about second-year players, but the way that he finished last season gives me confidence that a sophomore slump isnāt a real concern. I expect good things from this guy, who canāt even buy a drink until next October, not that he would anyway.
Fantasy Bust:Ā LaRoche
LaRoche is a typical masher. He can hit the ball out of the park, but will likely fall well short of even .275, which isnāt good enough at the first base position. Iām also not expecting another 33 homer, 100 RBI season from him. No doubt that LaRoche will get you some homers, but you can do much better at first base.
Fantasy Sleepers:Ā Span
Itās hard to find a sleeper on a team with great expectations, but as I stated above, Span gives good stolen base totals with a decent average. When you consider that heās a top of the order guy on a very good team, heāll score a bunch of runs. So while I donāt like the power numbers, I do like a guy who can steal a lot of bases while remaining strong in two other categories.
Heās likely to be overlooked, being an outfielder. But late in drafts or even on the wire, Span can be a great addition to your team.
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