Washington Nationals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz is batting cleanup for the Nationals on Tuesday against the Orioles. The switch-hitter is off to a solid start for the Nats, hitting safely in 16 of 19 games thus far, slashing .306/.359/.417 with a .346 wOBA and 121 wRC+, putting himself within the top 10 fantasy players at the position to this point. The 26-year-old owns a 10.3 percent strikeout rate in 2025, even better than his strong career mark of 11.0 percent, so he's very adept at putting the bat on the ball. Hitting fourth should afford a better shot at RBIs on Tuesday, and going up against the Orioles' Dean Kremer, who has allowed 13 earned runs in three road starts thus far (14 1/3 IP, 8.16 ERA), should put him under consideration for use in DFS lineups.

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams (hip) is starting his minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators. Abrams is eligible to return from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, but he won't be ready to return to face the Baltimore Orioles just yet this week. However, if the 24-year-old shortstop looks good in a game or two in the minors, he could be back by Thursday's series finale against the O's. He's trying to recover from a minor right hip-flexor strain. When the former first-rounder returns to the Nats lineup, he'll be carrying a .244/.289/.583 slash line, .874 OPS, four home runs, seven RBI, four stolen bases and six runs scored in his first 41 at-bats of 2025. With Abrams on the shelf, Washington has been using Nasim Nunez as their fill-in at the 6, but he's gone just 4-for-22 in limited action with no homers, two RBI and two steals.

Washington Nationals pitcher Jake Irvin tossed 6 innings of two-run ball on Sunday, earning his second win in a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Irvin allowed just three hits and no walks while striking out nine. This makes back-to-back brilliant outings for the 28-year-old, who has now allowed just six hits and one walk while striking out 15 in his last 13 innings. Irving showed some talent last year at points and appears to be doing the same this year. He is worth an add in deeper formats and can be streamed in good matchups in other formats.

Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood came ready to play for Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies. Wood would help extend the lead with a three-run blast in the fourth inning. He would later add another RBI with a single in the seventh inning. Wood finished his day 3-for-5 with a homer and four RBI in the 12-11 victory. After that game, Wood is slashing .253/.356/.573 with seven homers and 17 RBI early in the season. The 22-year-old needs to be rostered in all fantasy formats as he has all the potential to be a superstar in this league.

Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews hit his first two home runs of the season in Saturday's wild, 12-11 victory over the Rockies. He finished the game 3-for-5 with four runs scored, four RBI, two home runs, and 10 total bases. He hit his first homer of the year in the second inning off Chase Dollander to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead and took his fellow rookie deep again in the fifth inning to increase the Nats' lead to 9-2. The 23-year-old top prospect and his fantasy managers will hope his two-homer game jump-starts his season. He's still only hitting .177 with a .225 wOBA after that huge performance and has a 27.7% strikeout rate. Crews has a ton of talent and long-term upside, and he'll look to build on his big game with a doubleheader in Colorado on Sunday before coming home for a seven-game homestand starting on Tuesday.