The Nationals were 5-2 last week as they outscored their opponents 49-36.  The Nationals outstanding hitting more than made up for their sub-par pitching of last week.  The Nationals entered this week with a 21-30 record which had them in last place in the National League East, 12 games behind the Mets.

20 year old righty starting pitcher Collin Balester is on his way.  He is the Nationals #1 rated prospect according to Baseball America and he’s pitching well so far this season.  In 9 starts in AA ball, Balester is 1-2 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.  In 51.1 innings, he has allowed 53 hits and walked 15 batters.  Balester has also whiffed 43 batters which shows what kind of stuff he has.  It would be smart of the Nationals to bring Balester along slowly, but, that might not be possible because of their need for starting pitching at the big league level.

Jesus Colome has been a godsend for the Washington Nationals’ bullpen this season.  In 23 games, Colome is 4-0 with 1 save, a 2.12 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP so far this season.  The only issue so far with Colome is that he’s a little bit wild as he’s walked 17 batters in 29.2 innings.  Look for Colome to get even better for Washington if he tightens up his control, because he has outstanding stuff.

Jason Simontacchi started the season on the DL and he hasn’t pitched too well since he’s been activated.  In 3 starts, he is 1-2 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP so far this season.  In 17.1 innings, he has allowed 22 hits but he’s only walked 4 batters while whiffing 12.  It’s possible that Simontacchi could be a little bit rusty and the Nationals don’t have many options to replace him so he will get an extended look in the rotation.

The Nationals were 4-3 last week despite getting outscored 25-24.  The Nationals could have won even more games if they hit the ball a little bit better last week.  The Nationals entered this week with a 16-28 record which had them in last place in the National League East, 12.5 games behind the Mets.