With the MLB regular season just around the corner, the Washington Nationals have a projected starting rotation of Josiah Gray, Patrick Corbin, MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Trevor Williams, and Jackson Rutledge, with Gray being named the Opening Day starter for the March 28th contest at Cincinnati. Here is a look at how each starter has played throughout Spring Training.
Josiah Gray
So far in Grapefruit League play, Gray has started and played in three games and has an 0-1 win-loss record. He has only pitched in 7.1 innings where he has struck out 12 batters, but has an ERA of 7.36 and a WHIP of 1.91, allowing nine hits, six earned runs, one home run, and five walks. While this doesn’t spell success, the Nationals will obviously give him more action during the regular season.
In 2023, Gray went 8-13 with a 3.91 ERA, 143 strikeouts, and a 1.46 WHIP, and with Gray starting the season opener, we will have to see if Gray can improve in any way this upcoming season.
Patrick Corbin
Despite his recent regular season struggles since the 2019 World Series season, Corbin currently leads Washington with two wins in Grapefruit League play, with a 2-1 record in four games played and started. His other stats include a strong 16 K’s, but also a 5.11 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, allowing 14 hits and seven earned runs in 12.1 innings pitched.
Corbin’s two wins came against the St. Louis Cardinals on February 29th, where he struck out four batters in three innings, and then the Miami Marlins on March 6th.
Corbin has had an abysmal past four seasons with the Nationals, going 2-7 in 2020, 9-16 with a 5.82 ERA in 2021, 6-19 with a 6.31 ERA in 2022, and 10-15 with a 5.20 ERA last season.
MacKenzie Gore
This spring, Gore has pitched in 15.1 innings, the most of any Washington pitcher. In his four games started, Gore has a team-leading 19 strikeouts, but also a 5.87 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP, along with 14 hits and 10 earned runs allowed, with no wins or losses.
In his first season with the Nationals in 2023, Gore started in 27 games and went 7-10 with an ERA of 4.42, a WHIP of 1.40, and 151 strikeouts.
Jake Irvin
In Grapefruit League play, Irvin has played in four games and started two with a lone loss and no wins. He also has one of the more impressive stat lines, including 16 strikeouts, a 4.97 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and only 10 hits and seven earned runs allowed in 12.2 innings pitched, so clearly there is some upside to him.
Trevor Williams
Continuing a trend we saw in 2023, Williams has had a bit of a rocky Spring Training for the Nats. While he has a 1-1 record, he also has an ERA of 6.30 and a WHIP of 1.60, along with 16 hits and seven runs allowed in 10 innings pitched. Despite these stats, Williams has also struck out 11 batters.
Jackson Rutledge
Finally, Rutledge continues to make progress after making his Nationals debut last September. During Grapefruit League play, the 2019 first-round pick has played in three contests and started one, where he has seven strikeouts, a 3.86 ERA, a 1.57 WHIP, and only six hits and three earned runs allowed in seven innings pitched.
