The Nats are a very different team to the one that played the Cubs on Opening Day. Only two members of the bullpen remain and many fixtures of the lineup are now gone. Joey Wiemer, who dominated the Cubs to start the season, has now gone, with his rise and fall taking place over the course of six weeks.
However, the Nats remain on the outskirts of the playoff race. These last couple weeks have been a rollercoaster though. After beating the Diamondbacks in a series, they got within one game of a playoff spot and were over .500. Shortly after that, they hit a snag, losing seven in a row and selling at the deadline.
This past weekend though, the Nats got back into the fight by sweeping the Reds. The Nats lost the likes of Luis Garcia Jr., Curtis Mead and Foster Griffin at the deadline. However, a lot of the returns they received were made with the idea of helping the team in the near future.
The Nats bullpen has been a well publicized disaster, but with some new faces, they looked great against the Reds. Yovanny Cruz, Will Dion and Jake Bird all came over in deadline trades and have looked good in a Nats uniform. Nats POBO Paul Toboni has been searching for bullpen answers all season, but this is the best they have looked all year.
Usually, losing the NL leader in slugging would be a huge blow to the offense. However, rookie Abimelec Ortiz has looked very good stepping into Luis Garcia’s shoes. Andres Chaparro has also stepped up making the first base platoon very dangerous.
There is one dangerous name the Cubs will avoid this week. James Wood is on the IL with a mild oblique strain. He is the most fearsome piece in this elite Nats offense. However, this offense is more than just Wood. CJ Abrams has also been tremendous and there are other hot bats such as Daylen Lile and the resurgent Keibert Ruiz.
On the pitching side, you are likely to see the debut of Jackson Kent, the Nats top left handed pitching prospect. He is a funky lefty with an average heater, a great changeup, solid breaking balls and good command. Kent is someone the Nats are very high on.
Right after the deadline, it looked like the Nats might have gone in a tailspin. However, they just got their first sweep since April and are riding high. It will be interesting to see how the surprising Nats matchup with a veteran laden Cubs team.