The Nationals have extended 35-year old righty starting pitcher Livan Hernandez’ contract by a year. He will make $1 million bucks plus incentives in 2011 for the Nationals. Hernandez has started 27 games for the Nationals so far this year and he is 9-9 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. In his six years with the Expos/Nationals, Hernandez has pitched in 162 games (all starts) in which he is 61-56 with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Hernandez came out of nowhere to post pretty good numbers in 2010 so the Nationals are getting him for 2011 without promising him a lot of money unless he pitches like he did this year.

34-year old righty reliever Joel Peralta has been pitching excellent out of the pen for the Nationals so far. Peralta has pitched in 26 games (0 starts) this year for the Nationals and he is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has been attacking the strike zone with only 7 walks in 35 innings yet he has only given up 25 hits. Peralta also has 31 whiffs so he’s also missing a lot of bats. The Nationals hope he can keep up the good work.

In 2008 + 2009, Livan Hernandez pitched in 62 games (all starts) in which he was 22-23 with a 5.74 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. He looked like his career was nearing an end until this year. He has started 23 games for the Nationals this year and he is 8-7 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. It’s amazing to watch him pitch as his fastball rarely gets over 85 mph and his big breaking curveball is usually around 65-69 mph. But he’s doing a great job of mixing up his pitches and keeping batters thinking. I think he could finish the season strongly for the Nationals.

Righties Drew Storen, Matt Clippard and lefty Sean Burnett will likely share save opportunities with Matt Capps off to Minnesota. Storen is one of the best young pitchers the Nationals have to offer. Storen has pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he is 2-2 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He is the pitcher the Nationals would love to give the job to in the near future if he can handle it. Clippard has been a workhorse in middle relief and I think the Nationals would be smart to leave him there. Clippard has pitched in 50 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he is 8-6 with 1 save, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Lefty Sean Burnett would likely only close if a tough lefty were up to end the game. He has pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he is 0-5 with a 2.78 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Despite Matt Capps doing a fine job as closer for the Nationals I don’t think they will miss him much as Storen, Clippard and Burnett are all solid pitchers.

26-year old closer Matt Capps has made his first All-Star Team. He has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he is 2-3 with 22 saves, a 3.19 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Capps has given up 44 hits in 36 2/3 innings so he’s not a dominating, slam the door type of closer but he usually gets the job done. His pinpoint control is often a huge asset for him as he has only walked 7 batters this year. Capps has pitched pretty well for the Nationals this season and he deserves to be a All-Star.