Washington Nationals: Why the Nats Have One of the Best Rotations in the NL

Since the Montreal Expos migrated to Washington D.C. and became the Nationals in 2005, the nation's capitol has been waiting on a winning team to cheer for.

While their prospects have taken time to blossom, pitching sensation Stephen Strasburg is fully recovered from Tommy John surgery and will join new signing Gio Gonzalez and 2011 standout Jordan Zimmermann.

Gonzalez is coming off a 2011 season where he posted the lowest ERA in his four-year career, posting a 3.12 average. He also posted his highest season strikeout total with 197 en route to a 16-12 record with Oakland.

While the Nats certainly missed Strasburg last year, Zimmermann did his best to fill in for the prodigy, also boasting his best season strikeout total and ERA output of his career. The home-grown National didn't have the best win-loss record (going 8-11), but his 1.15 WHIP and 3.18 ERA were decent.

Both pitchers are coming off arguably their best years in the majors, with newcomer Edwin Jackson, John Lannan and former New York Yankee Chien-Ming Wang filling out the rotation. Jackson is coming over from a season split between the White Sox and the Cardinals, bringing a quality strike-out pitcher to Washington.And, While neither Lannan nor Wang carry as much name value as the other three ahead of them, they're solid options given their place in the rotation.

That's a respectable staff without Strasburg, but when you add in one of the crown jewels of their team, only several teams come to mind with a better staff than Washington in the National League. Obviously the Cardinals and Phillies are still atop in those rankings, with the Braves, and Giants boasting strong staffs as well.

That being said, even with the 160-inning limit on the San Diego-native, Strasburg looks primed for another impressive season. Given it was only in 24 innings last season, the Nats' starter posted a microscopic 1.50 ERA, allowing just four earned runs and 15 hits over that time frame.

That's after returning from Tommy John, and after a rookie season where he notched almost 100 Ks, living up to the massive amount of hype surrounding his big league arrival.

As Sports Ilustrated recently pointed out, there have been more than a few starting pitchers who have returned from the surgery and continued to dominate the majors. John Smoltz, Chris Carpenter, Tim Hudson and Adam Wainwright are just a few hurlers who have come back from Tommy John.

"As far as my arm feels, it feels like [the injury] never happened." Baltimore Orioles starter Pat Hentgen told USA Today after his first full season post Tommy John surgery.

The recovery process has been handled in the best fashion by the organization, and if Strasburg continues to be as nasty as he has been since joining the bigs, the Nationals have one of the top five or six staffs in the NL.