Washington Nationals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Trevor Williams has been moved up to start Sunday's contest against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Williams was expected to start during their upcoming series against the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers next week. However, with Michael Soroka (biceps) on the injured list, the Nationals will have to shift their starting pitchers. Williams made his first start of the season on April 1 against the Toronto Blue Jays. In this start, Williams allowed 10 hits and three earned runs across five innings of work. Last season, the 32-year-old held a strong 2.03 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP across 66 innings of work. However, he generated a much higher 3.17 xERA, which suggests he should see regression this summer. He should not be targeted in DFS facing a potent Arizona lineup.

Washington Nationals outfielder Jacob Young is out of the lineup again on Sunday against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Dylan Crews will slide over to center field again and hit ninth, while Alex Call is making another start in right field and will bat seventh against Arizona right-hander Corbin Burnes. The Nationals have held Young out of the lineup the last two days while he works to clean up his hitting mechanics after starting the 2025 season with a .067/.263/.133 slash line with a double, two runs scored, a stolen base, three walks and two strikeouts in his first seven games. Manager Dave Martinez said that the 25-year-old will return to the starting lineup for Monday's series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but fantasy managers in deeper leagues may want to keep him benched until he shows signs of breaking out of his early-season slump.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker logged six innings of one-run ball en route to earning the victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday afternoon. Parker allowed just two hits and served up four free passes. He struck out two. While he did not provide impressive strikeout totals, he was able to quiet the Arizona offense all afternoon. His lone blemish came on a Randal Grichuk RBI single in the sixth inning. Parker also performed well in his first start of the campaign, tossing six shutout frames (with seven hits) against the Philadelphia Phillies. Last season, the southpaw held a 4.29 ERA with a 1.30 WHIP across 151 innings of work. Given his low strikeout upside, he only carries value in deeper formats. He will look to pick up his third-straight victory over Miami in his next outing.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. is taking a seat for Saturday's contest at Nationals Park with Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound. Amed Rosario will start at the keystone and hit second against E-Rod. Rosario is hitting just .125 in eight career at-bats against Rodriguez, but the Nats want to get Garcia off his feet against another left-hander. The 24-year-old does have a home run and three RBI in his first six games of the season, but he has just three hits in his first 21 plate appearances with four strikeouts as well. The 29-year-old Rosario is in a prime lineup spot to be a DFS sleeper, and he's also recorded three hits (one homer) in his first eight at-bats of the 2025 campaign as a backup infielder for Washington.

Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz and outfielder Jacob Young are both resting on Saturday against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks at Nationals Park. Riley Adams will do the catching for left-hander Mitchell Parker and will bat ninth, while Alex Call will start in right field and bat sixth against D-backs left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez. Dylan Crews is sliding from right field to center. Ruiz entered Friday's lost to Arizona riding a six-game hitting streak to begin the year but had it snapped when he went 0-for-4 . The 26-year-old Venezuelan has gone 8-for-25 in the early going with two homers, five RBI and four runs scored. Young, meanwhile, has struggled with just one hit in 15 at-bats in his first six games of the year. Adams is hitless in just one career at-bat against E-Rod, while Call has never faced him in his career.