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Groundball pitchers not ideal for the current Washington Nationals

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They have the bats, the starting pitching, and the speed a team needs to win. One area the Washington Nationals don’t excel is on defense.

Aside from third baseman Anthony Rendon, no one on this roster will sniff a Gold Glove. This is especially true of the infield, which means groundball pitchers are probably not the best option for the Nationals.

First baseman Ryan Zimmerman has been one of the worst fielders at his position this year. The converted third baseman regularly makes errors and shows up at the bottom of several defensive numbers. If there was DH in the National League, he’d start there a lot more often.

Second baseman Daniel Murphy isn’t much better. He also ranks low on the defensive side of things. Thankfully, his bat keeps him employed and makes up for his poor range and regular miscues.

This pair on the right side of the infield makes for a dangerous combination whenever the Nationals are on the defensive side. A groundball between first base and second base is never a guaranteed out no matter how routine it may look.

In order for a groundball pitcher to succeed, they need a top-level defense behind them on the infield. The Nationals don’t have that right now. They’ve sacrificed slick glove work in exchange for elite offense. Thus far, it has worked well.

Ace Max Scherzer isn’t afraid to get the third out on a deep fly ball to right field. Even with Zimmerman and Murphy behind him, he has managed to put up amazing numbers.

Unfortunately, pitching for fly outs does occasionally lead to additional home runs. Scherzer knows this very well with four-baggers regularly occurring when he’s on the mound.

The wind can always take a ball the few extra feet it needs to go from the final out to a three-run drive. Even with poor defenders behind a pitcher, this is the advantage to keeping the ball on the ground. The damage is minimal.

This season the Nationals are relying on fly balls for their outs. None of their starters are in the top 30 in ground outs to air outs ratio. Gio Gonzalez is close but would need a game of choppers back to the mound in order to get there.

Washington’s starting pitchers rely heavily on strikeouts and solid defense in the outfield. They are not dependent on Zimmerman or Murphy to steal runs from the opposing team. This is why they are able to survive with brick gloves at first base and second base.

The last time a Nationals’ player won a Gold Glove was back in 2012 when first baseman Adam LaRoche took one home. Before him, Zimmerman earned one as a third baseman in 2009.

Immaculate defense is not in the Nationals’ history. They value other aspects far more.

Groundball pitchers have a place in MLB. They don’t look like the best fit in Washington.

Tim Boyle is a Staff Writer for Outside Pitch MLB covering the Washington Nationals. Follow Tim on Twitter.

The post Groundball pitchers not ideal for the current Washington Nationals appeared first on OutsidePitchMLB.


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