With Opening Day just a weeks away, I wanted to recap Spring Training and talk about some of the best and worst things I saw down in West Palm. It truly was a mixed bag, with a lot of good, but also some things that concerned me.

Highlight: James Wood is ready for prime time

James Wood looks ready for a true breakout this season. He is already one of the most unique athletes in the sport, and takes advantage of his gifts. Wood is hitting .343 this spring with four homers in just 35 at bats. He has shown off his prodigious opposite field power and his spectacular plate discipline. James Wood is the crown jewel of this Nats rebuild. The Rockville, Maryland kid will be a home town hero for the Nationals.

The Juan Soto trade was hard to stomach, but the return saved the Nationals rebuild. Those pieces are going to be the core of this Nationals team for years to come. James Wood will be the center piece of it.

Lowlight: The fifth starter battle

Heading into camp the most anticipated camp battle was the race for the fifth starter spot. However, none of the candidates looked overly convincing this spring. Mitchell Parker will win the job by default because he was the only guy not to look awful. However, he looks to be pretty much the same guy he was last year.

DJ Herz and Shinnosuke Ogasawara were both real disappointments, especially Herz. After such a promising 2024 campaign that made him a trendy breakout pick, Herz hasn’t looked like the same guy this spring. His control woes which he mitigated in 2024 are back, walking 9 in 9.2 innings. There are also reports that his velocity is down this spring. As for Ogasawara, his stuff isn’t fooling big league hitters. He has allowed 16 hits in 8.1 innings and has given up a ton of hard contact. Both look set to start the season in Rochester.

Highlight: Filthy young relievers

The bullpen was a big question mark for the Nats this spring. There are still some concerns, but there are some young arms that look strong. Jose A Ferrer is my favorite reliever on the team and he had a dominant spring. The 25 year old didn’t allow a run in his 8 outings, striking out 10 in 7.1 innings. He has the best stuff in the bullpen and can throw strikes too. I think he has a chance for some saves if Kyle Finnegan continues his struggles from the end of last season.

Orlando Ribalta also looked very good and has made a big case to make the team. The 6’7 right hander has a mid to upper 90’s fastball with a filthy changeup to go with it. He posted a 2.38 ERA this spring and made a lot of batters look silly. Those two guys can be a big part of the future of the Nats bullpen.

Lowlight: Jake Irvin’s velocity dip

Whenever a pitchers fastball velocity is down over 2 ticks, you have to hold your breath. That is exactly what happened with Jake Irvin yesterday, with his heater sitting at 91 MPH. His diminished stuff got punished by the Cardinals, who tagged him for six runs. Irvin said he is fine physically, but the velocity being down is a red flag.

With Herz and Ogasawara struggling this spring, the Nationals seemingly deep rotation could be running out of good options. Irvin needs to be the dependable innings eater he was last year if the Nats want to build off of their 2024 season. The right hander going down with injury or being ineffective would be a massive blow to the rotation.

Highlight: Hassell is hitting

Robert Hassell was a huge part of the Juan Soto trade, but he has had a rough go of it in Washington. Between injuries and his famed hitting ability vanishing, Hassell has seen his stock diminish. However, after a strong Arizona Fall League campaign, Hassell carried that momentum to Spring Training.

He has hit .370 this spring, spraying the ball all over the yard. Hassell finally looks like the natural hitter the Nats thought they were getting. Of course, he will need to carry this momentum into Triple-A, where he struggled in his brief time last year. However, Hassell has positive momentum for the first time in a while. With a strong start to the season, Hassell could reach the big leagues quickly.

Lowlight: New power bats struggling

This one is by far the least concerning, but Josh Bell and Nathaniel Lowe haven’t been great this spring. The Spring Training performance of veteran hitters is something I don’t care about that much, but it is worth noting, particularly with Bell. Lowe has been one of the most consistent players in baseball over the last few years, so his lackluster spring is easy to brush off. He is still drawing plenty of walks and has been better lately.

However, Bell is getting a bit older and has been on a steady decline the past couple of years. He is just 6/37 this spring. However, I am not gonna push the panic button yet. It is still very early days and Bell has made some hard contact. He has had some ugly swings, but that’s always been a part of his game. I am not really concerned, it is just something to monitor.