Washington Nationals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams (shoulder) remained out of the lineup on Saturday due to a shoulder injury. The 23-year-old was kept sidelined on Friday as well. Fantasy managers should consider Abrams day-to-day for the time being as he could be cleared to return for the series finale against the Miami Marlins on Sunday. As a result, Nasim Nunez will cover shortstop Saturday afternoon and bat in the nine-hole. Abrams has enjoyed another excellent season this summer, launching 20 home runs and swiping 29 bags while holding a .239 AVG. Nunez has tallied four hits in his past five starts and could be a sneaky play in DFS as he will face Miami right-hander Valente Bellozo.

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams (shoulder) has been scratched from the lineup on Friday against the division-rival Miami Marlins at Nationals Park due to a sore left shoulder after a diving play on Thursday night. With Abrams out, everyone in the batting order moves up a slot, with rookie outfielder Dylan Crews starting in right field and batting leadoff against Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera. Nasim Nunez slots in at the 6 in D.C. and will hit in the nine-hole. Fantasy managers should consider Abrams to be day-to-day for now and check back on Saturday to see if he is available to play against the Fish. The rookie Nunez has handled himself well in his first 37 big-league games in 2024 by hitting .345 (10-for-29), but he has yet to clear the fences and will have limited DFS appeal at the bottom of Washington's batting order.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Mitchell Parker was terrific on Thursday, tossing 6 innings without allowing an earned run against the Miami Marlins. Parker did allow two unearned runs on three hits. He fanned five and didn't walk a batter. The 24-year-old has hit a wall after an encouraging start to his career, so this game was nice to see. Parker is lined up for two starts next week, one against the Mets and the other against the Cubs. They aren't terrible matchups, but Parker hasn't shown enough to make him a must-stream. He should be left for deeper leagues.

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin (10-12) delivered a quality start on Wednesday as the Nats defeated the Atlanta Braves 5-1. Irvin allowed one run on two hits and walked one while striking out five in six innings. He also earned the win. Pitching in his second season, Irving has taken tremendous steps forward and has become a promising young player that the Nationals can build around. In 30 starts (172 IP), Irvin has pitched to a 4.19 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Both are vast improvements over his numbers in 2023 (4.62 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in 121 IP). The 27-year-old is scheduled for two starts next week and will look to keep things rolling in his next scheduled start Monday on the road against the New York Mets.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. and outfielder/designated hitter Joey Gallo are both out of the lineup on Wednesday at Nationals Park against the division-rival Atlanta Braves and left-hander Max Fried. Ildemaro Vargas is starting at second base and batting eighth, while Andres Chaparro serves as the DH and bats out of the three-hole against Fried. Garcia is in the midst of the best season of his career by far, as he came into Wednesday slashing .284/.322/.443 with career-highs in OPS (.766), home runs (15), RBI (63) and stolen bases (21) in a career-high 126 games played as Washington's starting second baseman. None of his 15 long balls on the year have come against southpaws, though, and he's also hitting just .167 (5-for-30) with eight strikeouts in 10 games over the last 14 days. It's a good day to get Garcia off his feet against a tough lefty.