The Washington Nationals are coming off a last-place 71-91 season and are looking to continue building upon what they accomplished in 2023.
It may not have seemed like much to write home about, but in 2022 the Nats were an abysmal 55-107 as they finally completed the full teardown of the core of a roster that led them to the 2019 World Series title.
They look forward to continuing their rise and kicking off 2024 the right way, as MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato announced that Josiah Gray will be the Opening Day starter for the Nats.
Josiah Gray named the Nationals Opening Day starter for the 2024 season.
— Jessica Camerato (@JessicaCamerato) March 17, 2024
Gray was the obvious choice, as the Nationals still have a mix of young unproven guys and a couple of declining veterans in their rotation.
The other four likely starters are MacKenzie Gore, Patrick Corbin, Trevor Williams, and Jake Irvin.
The 26-year-old Gray was a centerpiece in the blockbuster 2021 trade that sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from Washington to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Last season, Gray showed big improvements, going 8-13 across 30 starts and posting a career-best 3.91 ERA in 159 innings.
He also struck out 143 batters and surrendered 80 walks.
Free passes are the area where Gray will most need to improve in 2023 in order to develop into a legitimate ace.
He failed to consistently go deep into games last season due to high pitch counts, and as the No. 1 in this rotation, he’ll need to keep growing and get to around 180-200 innings a year.
Washington is returning the same 5-man rotation it had last season and is hoping to get more production out of Gray and Gore in particular, as they are the two with the highest ceilings who could anchor the next great Nats team.
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