RHP Shawn Hill - Hill is my tentative candidate for Opening Day starter. He started the 2007 campaign looking like the team's unquestionable ace, until he went down with some injuries, from a sore elbow to his left shoulder, which he injured sliding into third base. Hill went 4-5 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in sixteen starts last year. If he can find a way to stay healthy, Hill should put up good numbers in 2008, and at 26 years old, he could become a fixture in DC. But the key for him is staying healthy.
RHP Jason Bergmann - Bergmann was another one of the pitchers with whom Washington fans became more familiar in 2007. Bergmann started the season strong, going 1-3, but posting a 2.70 ERA until May 14th, when he went down with an injury. Bergmann came back in late June, but wasn't as electric as he had been before he was hurt. Bergmann finished the season going 4-1 in September to close the year at 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA and a WHIP of 1.22. Bergmann is also 26 years old, and also needs to keep himself healthy. If he can do that, he and Hill could combine for a better 1-2 punch than the Nationals have been able to put out there to date.
LHP Matt Chico - Matt Chico was 23 when the 2007 season began, and arguably one of the pitchers of whom least was expected on the Nationals staff. Chico will overpower approximately no one, but he showed a lot of guts on the mound this past year, and was the only member of the rotation to make every one of his scheduled starts posting a 7-9/4.63/1.40 season in 31 starts. Chico was briefly sent down to AAA Columbus in August, but was brought back up to consistently lower his ERA through the month of September.
RHP Tim Redding - So far the old man of the rotation, Redding, 29, was one of those prospects that never quite panned out. He posted his best season for Houston in 2003, going 10-14 with a 3.68 ERA. Redding wasn't able to replicate the success, however, and soon found himself spending time with the Padres, Yankees, and White Sox before making a successful return to a major league roster in 2007 with the Nats. In about half a season with the club, Redding went 3-6 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Redding at times showed glimpses of what Houston had seen in him, and if he can harness that next year, Redding could be a pleasant surprise. Special Bonus: Tim Redding has a total pedo-beard, guaranteed to frighten any rookies batting for the opposing team. Yes!
LHP John Lannan - Lannan, 23, was Washington's shooting star last season, starting the season at High A Potomac, and ending it with the big league club, until he was shut down in late August after putting 150+ innings in his very young arm. He showed a lot of guile during his time in DC last year, especially in back to back 7 inning 1 run performances at San Francisco and Arizona. I had him down to be the one who gave up the homer with which Barry Bonds later graced Mike Bacsik, but Lannan was fearless against the roid loving Bonds, rendering him ineffective. Lannan went 2-2/4.15/1.53 in six starts in DC, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him rounding out the rotation next year.
The Others!
I gave Lannan the nod for the fifth spot in the rotation over newly acquired RHP Tyler Clippard, who seems to be a favorite in a lot of peoples' eyes, partially because Lannan is a lefty, but significantly because his minor and major league stats were better than Clippard's last year. LHP Ross Detwiler has also been mentioned frequently when talking about next year's rotation. Detwiler was Washington's first round pick in the 2007 draft, and was impressive in Rookie League and High A ball last year, but it's a little too early to be hurling him into the rotation, according to me. The guy certainly does project as our ace of the future, however. Finally, RHP Joel Hanrahan will round out my list. Hanrahan made 11 starts with the Nationals last year, getting knocked around pretty hard, but going 5-3 with an even 6.00 ERA and a WHIP of almost 2. Hanrahan is still young, though, and could definitely get some time in the rotation if Hill, Bergmann, and company spend some time on the DL.
Wait... you must have missed...
No. I didn't miss RHP John Patterson. It's time to give up on Patterson, who had a very strong 2005 campaign that got people thinking maybe he wasn't the injury prone washout that Arizona gave up on, Patterson has made fifteen starts in two years, posting a delectable 7.47 ERA and a 1-5 record in 2007. It's time to put this old boy out to pasture. I hope he makes me eat my words, but if Patterson makes more than ten starts in 2008, I'll be absolutely taken aback.
So there's a rundown of the rotation, I'll follow this up with breakdowns of the 'pen, the starters, and the bench players in the next few days.
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