Washington Nationals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jake Irvin yielded five hits and two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings in his team's 10-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. He struck out six and issued one free pass to pick up his fifth quality start and improve to 3-1 in ten starts. The 28-year-old was able to make it through six innings unscathed, but began to unravel when he returned to the mound for the bottom of the seventh. An Adley Rutschman double kicked off that frame, and Irvin would only be able to get Cedric Mullins to ground out before two hits and an error pushed across two runs. Still, it was another strong performance for him as he's gone six or more innings and yielded three or fewer runs in seven of his starts. However, it's worth noting that those didn't always coincide. He'll carry a serviceable 3.88 ERA and 1.16 WHIP into a home matchup against the San Francisco Giants his next time out.

Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood stayed hot at the plate in Friday's 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, going 2-for-4 with a single, his 12th home run of the season, two RBI, and two strikeouts as the designated hitter out of the three-hole. Wood has been very productive for his fantasy managers in his first full season in the big leagues, hitting .273/.366/.540 with a .906 OPS, 12 homers, 11 doubles, 27 RBI, 25 runs scored and five stolen bases in 46 games played. The 22-year-old's home run in the eighth inning was a big one, as it tied the score up at three apiece in the eventual win. Wood now has 11 multi-hit games on the year and has improved in the month of May, hitting .317/.379/.533 with three home runs, six RBI and two steals in 66 plate appearances. He's a must-start in fantasy.

The Washington Nationals activated second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. off the paternity list on Friday and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. The Nationals have yet to release their starting lineup for Friday's series opener in Baltimore against the Orioles and left-hander Cade Povich, but fantasy managers should expect Garcia to be back at second base. As far as whether to start the 25-year-old left-handed hitter in DFS lineups, that will only be for the bold. Garcia is hitting just .226 (30-for-133) in his first 38 games after a breakout season in 2024. He's also really struggled against lefties, going 2-for-20 against them with no homers and three RBI in 27 plate appearances. Garcia is hitting .184 (7-for-38) with a homer, two doubles, five RBI, two steals and eight strikeouts in 11 games in the month of May.

Washington Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a stolen base, and two runs scored in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Braves. This was the dual-threat's sixth home run and ninth stolen base of the year to go along with a .317/.379/.548 slash line in 32 games. The speedster didn't let his 10-game trip to the injured list with a hip flexor strain slow him down, with four of his stolen bases coming after he was activated on April 24th. He's one of the few players in the game who has legitimate 20 home run and 40 stolen base upside.

Washington Nationals outfielder Dylan Crews is out of the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale against the division-rival Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. This will be Crew's first game off in over a month, but it comes at a time when the second-year outfielder is really struggling at the dish. The 23-year-old former second overall pick in 2023 out of LSU has gone 6-for-52 (.115) with a homer, double, five RBI, five steals, five walks and 18 strikeouts in his last 15 games since April 29 to drop his season slash line to .189/.245/.318 in 148 at-bats. The good news is Crews does have 11 steals for his fantasy managers. Hopefully the mental day off will get him going moving forward. Alex Call is starting in right field for the Nats on Thursday and is hitting seventh against Braves right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver. Call has hit a strong .296 (24-for-81) but is still searching for his first homer in 2025.