We are almost to Memorial Day, which is when you can really start looking at the MLB standings. Interesting to note that perennial sub .500 teams Cincinnati , Washington , and San Diego are all sitting with pretty impressive records. While the Phillies and Cardinals seem to have the best NL overall teams, the last 2 playoff spots will likely be determined late in September. Can any of these teams keep up the pace? San Diego ’s pitching has been tremendous and they have a lot of good young hitters. The Reds have used the hot-start by never-pitched-in-the-minors Mike Leake (who I wrote here would be a great pick for the Braves in last years draft). However, the Nationals are the team that I think has the most staying power.
Think about this scenario…It is late July, and teams are making their pitch for the big-time available starters that are likely to be available. Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and company are possibly going to be on the trading block at that time. If Steven Strasburg comes up and is close to what he has been in the minors, how good could Washington be if they acquired one of these starters?
The lineup is pretty strong with Zimmerman-Dunn-Willingham in the middle as run producers. Pudge has been a great pick-up and Nyjer Moran has been getting on base from the lead-off spot. If they are still close in July, think about a Lee-Strasburg-Marquis-Hernandez-Olsen rotation with a bullpen that has been better than average so far.
This team may run into issues because the franchise has never won, but there may be enough pieces that they could turn into a playoff team.
Just a thought...
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