Washington Nationals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore turned in a quality start in a 2-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. Gore allowed two runs on four hits over six innings of work while striking out eight and walking one but wound up with a tough-luck loss in the low-scoring affair. Gore notched a game-high 14 swinging strikes in the contest. The veteran hurler now has a 2-3 record, 3.34 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 53 strikeouts over 35 innings of work as he looks to continue to build upon a breakout year in 2024. Gore will look to stay hot in his next start, which is scheduled for Tuesday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Washington Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli (elbow) is moving his minor-league rehab assignment to Double-A Harrisburg and will make his next start on Thursday. In his first rehab start while recovering from Tommy John surgery, Cavalli threw four shutout innings with one hit allowed, two walks and three strikeouts for Single-A Fredericksburg. The former first-rounder made his major-league debut back in 2022 with the Nationals but allowed seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in his lone start before missing most of the last two seasons due to right-elbow issues. Because of his extended layoff, the 26-year-old is likely going to spend all 30 days on his rehab assignment before the Nationals decide what to do with him. When he's ready to come off the 15-day injured list, there's a good chance Cavalli will be sent to Triple-A Rochester.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young and third baseman Jose Tena will start on the bench for Thursday's contest against the visiting Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park. Dylan Crews is starting in center field and will bat eighth, Alex Call is in right field and in the two-hole, and Amed Rosario is starting at third base and batting sixth versus Orioles left-hander Cade Povich. Young went 0-for-3 on Wednesday to snap a three-game hitting streak and is hitting just .220 (11-for-50) with no homers, one RBI, two steals and six runs scored as a platoon outfielder in D.C. Tena has hits in both of his at-bats against lefties this year with two RBI, but the left-handed hitter will take a seat in favor of Rosario. Although Call has yet to clear the fences in 42 at-bats in 2025, he'll be the better DFS sleeper play in the second spot. The 30-year-old is hitting .310 (13-for-42) with eight RBI and seven runs scored.

The Washington Nationals announced on Thursday that they reinstated shortstop CJ Abrams (hip) from the 10-day injured list and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. Fantasy managers will want to check back a bit later to see if Abrams is back in the starting lineup for Thursday's contest against the visiting Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park. The 24-year-old will be rejoining the big-league roster since landing on the IL back on April 12 due to a right hip-flexor strain. In two minor-league rehab games with Triple-A Rochester, Abrams went hitless in four at bats with two walks. Before tweaking his hip stealing a base, Abrams was hitting .244 (10-for-41) in the early going in 2025 with four home runs, two doubles, seven RBI and four stolen bases in 11 games. Get Abrams back into all starting fantasy lineups if he's active on Thursday, which he should be.UPDATE: Abrams is at shortstop and batting leadoff on Thursday against Orioles left-hander Cade Povich.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker shut out the Orioles over eight innings on Tuesday in a 7-0 victory, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out four. He has been as solid as they come to begin 2025, as this was his fifth straight quality start. He's allowed one run or less in four of his five appearances, and his ERA is now down to a minuscule 1.39 on the year. He still doesn't offer much strikeout upside with only 20 through 32 innings, but he's pitching too well right now to leave on fantasy waiver wires.