Washington Nationals' 5 Most Important Players for 2015 Success
Contrary to popular belief, the Washington Nationals have not been crowned 2015 World Series champions just yet, and there are a number of players on the roster who must perform up to or beyond their potential for the team to reach its lofty goals.
In 2014, the Nationals' Achilles' heel was a lack of offense when they needed it most.
Washington's pitching staff mowed down opponents all season, earning the best ERA in baseball. And the addition of Max Scherzer without the subtraction of any starters from a year ago should equal continued dominance from the mound.
With the disclaimer that Washington only played one postseason series, the team had the second-lowest batting average of the 10-team playoff field. That could be Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants' fault, but the Nats' .253 regular-season average wasn't all that impressive either.
The sheer depth of Washington's starting rotation—including Tanner Roark's ability to step in if someone in the rotation suffers an injury—disqualifies any one starter from a spot on this list.
Instead, the criteria for inclusion are the consequences of a lackluster season from a particular player and the high stakes behind a transition into a new role.
If someone like closer Drew Storen or newly minted first baseman Ryan Zimmerman fall apart or sees extended time on the disabled list in 2015, the Nationals will face some scary on-the-fly decisions during the season.
That said, here are the five most important individual players on a 2015 Washington team that will be viewed as an abject failure without a deep postseason run.
5. Kevin Frandsen
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Kevin Frandsen's campaign to be Washington's everyday second baseman came up short when the team traded for Yunel Escobar last month.
Sorry, Kevin Frandsen.
But the 32-year-old's versatility does make him a valuable asset for the Nationals this season.
Washington's eight starting position players form a very solid lineup, but depth is an issue at some positions. And at spots like first and third base, Frandsen is the depth.
Ryan Zimmerman will make the full-time transition over to first from third this season in order to spare his degenerative shoulder. But the 30-year-old is still a high injury risk, only having played 61 games in 2014.
Third baseman Anthony Rendon is 24 years old and played 153 games last season, so he's less of a concern injury-wise. Excuse me while I feverishly knock on wood.
Frandsen is the backup at both of those positions, even though he earned the highest percentage of his playing time in the outfield last year, taking 61 at-bats as a left fielder.
Among starting outfielders, Jayson Werth is still recovering from shoulder surgery, and Bryce Harper's kamikaze playing style is always a threat to his health. If either or both of those two hits the DL for any length of time, Frandsen could be asked to reprise his role as an outfielder.
He has only hit above .300 once in his career. So if 2012 Frandsen shows up this season, in whatever role he ends up seeing the most time, it could be a huge boost for the Nationals' depth.
4. Bryce Harper
2 of 5It's easy to forget just how young Bryce Harper is.
At 22 years old, he's heading into his fourth major league campaign.
And while Harper is yet to hit better than .300 in a year and he suffered a statistical decline last regular season, his 2014 playoff numbers might get a few more people to stop calling him a bust.
In Washington's four games against San Francisco last postseason, Harper hit .294 with three home runs and a 1.251 OPS. In Game 4, he almost extended the Nationals' playoff lives by bludgeoning a game-tying homer into McCovey Cove.
In that series, Harper was the most important player on the team.
But for Harper to sustain that kind of impact and set his career on the Hall of Fame path it was supposed to take, he has to stay healthy.
In each of the last two seasons, he's made reckless plays with good intentions that cost him or nearly cost him extensive time on the DL. Part of Harper growing up will be figuring out how to maintain that fierce competitiveness without causing himself repeated bodily harm.
He'll also make the switch from left to right field this season, so his defense will be featured more in 2015 than past years.
This season has the tone of a make-or-break year for Harper. In his fourth go-around, less people will jump to his defense if he doesn't start moving closer to Mike Trout numbers.
The Nationals need Harper to be that good this season, both offensively and defensively, because of the time and money they've invested in him.
3. Drew Storen
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Drew Storen is set to be Washington's closer this season.
That role has been very good for him, like when he rattled off 10 consecutive saves at the end of last season. That role has also been very unfortunate for him, as evidenced by his 8.44 ERA and two blown saves in two postseasons.
The importance of a strong year for Storen is born from the lack of a safety net beneath him in the bullpen. The Nationals declined former closer Raphael Soriano's option, and they traded away Tyler Clippard, who could have stepped into the closer role in the event of a Storen meltdown.
Into spring training and the start of the season, Washington could end up with some options as a contingency plan at closer. The Nats signed veteran closer Casey Janssen to a one-year deal, and Tanner Roark will likely find his way to the bullpen due to the logjam in the rotation.
But Janssen's numbers have been declining since 2012 and, while Roark has some bullpen experience, there's no way to tell if he can be an effective closer.
Storen will be thrown into the fire as the closer in 2015 with the rest of the bullpen a major question mark.
It would be a significant blow to the team as a whole if he doesn't thrive in the role.
2. Ryan Zimmerman
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For the last 10 years, Ryan Zimmerman has been the Nationals' third baseman.
Now, at 30 years old, he'll make the transition to his new full-time job at first base.
Zimmerman's bat has been the most reliable source of clutch hitting in the franchise's history in Washington. He was the Nationals' first-ever draft pick and, since they selected him out of the University of Virginia, he's only hit less than .270 once in his career.
That's why it was important for Washington to find a way to incorporate Zimmerman into the everyday lineup when his shoulder issues made it impossible to play third base consistently.
Zimmerman's experiment at first began last season and, by manager Matt Williams' estimation, the trial went well.
"He's a natural over there," Williams said via The Washington Post's James Wagner. "He's got no issue."
The concern at this point isn't over Zimmerman's ability to play the position, but how long his health can hold up. The move to first saves his shoulder for the most part, but last season also saw him suffer from a broken thumb and a strained hamstring.
The depth behind Zimmerman is questionable. In the event he's not available, Washington is left with Frandsen and whoever wins the spring training battle for one of the last roster spots.
Whether that's Tyler Moore, new signing Mike Carp or someone else, Zimmerman's bat would be difficult to replace.
1. Anthony Rendon
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Just how good is Anthony Rendon?
That question has come with any discussion of the Nationals third baseman since he reached the bigs in 2013.
After earning his first Silver Slugger award and putting together an .824 OPS two years into his career, he's trending toward very, very good.
In late August, The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore named the 24-year-old Washington's best player at the time. Former teammate Adam LaRoche backed up the assertion, saying Rendon "may be our hands-down, team MVP when this thing's said and done."
Based on the National League MVP voting, Rendon was indeed Washington's most valuable player of 2014. He finished in fifth place, 13 spots higher than the next National on the list, which was Jayson Werth in 18th.
If you asked 100 Nationals fans who the face of the franchise is, you'd get one of the more varied lists in baseball. The easy answer is Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg, two No. 1 draft picks with loads of potential. You'd probably also hear $200 million man Max Scherzer and veterans Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman.
But the fans who dove into the minutia of Washington's 162 games last year are liable to say Anthony Rendon.
The Nationals learned last year how hard it is to consistently win games by a score of 1-0. Their absurd rotation makes it possible, but the run support has to show up if Washington is to reach its full potential.
Rendon is the best offensive player on a team that needs more offense, so his importance this season will be felt on a daily basis.
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