Washington Nationals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz and outfielder Jacob Young are not in Sunday's lineup when the Nationals face the St. Louis Cardinals. Ruiz has started each of the previous three contests. Over his last 10 games, the backstop has been very productive at the plate, holding a .282/.317/.308 line with a 6:2 K:BB. Fantasy managers should expect Ruiz to return to the starting nine on Monday when they face the Atlanta Braves. Young has been in the starting lineup in each of the past 12 games. During this stretch, the 25-year-old has posted a modest .220/.273/.268 line. As a result, Riley Adams will be behind the dish, and Dylan Crews will shift to center field, which opens right field for Alex Call. The Nationals are worth a look in DFS facing Miles Mikolas, who enters this game holding a 4.76 ERA.

The Washington Nationals have recalled right-handed pitching prospect Zach Brzykcy from Triple-A Rochester. Brzykcy will replace Lucas Sims, who was released on Friday evening. The 25-year-old had a brief one-inning appearance in the majors earlier this season. Last summer, Brzykcy made his MLB debut but logged only five 2/3 innings of work. Across his first six 2/3 innings in the majors, Brzykcy has held a 13.50 ERA with a 2.25 WHIP. He has struck out five batters but has walked 20% of the batters he has faced. However, Brzykcy has been very productive at Triple-A, holding a stellar 1.88 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP across 14 1/3 innings of work. Given his previous struggles in the majors, fantasy managers should expect Brzykcy to have a low-leverage role in the bullpen.

Although he picked up the loss in a 2-1 game in Friday's series opener against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, Texas Rangers left-hander Patrick Corbin continued to pitch well by giving up just two runs on three hits while walking four and striking out three in seven innings for a quality start. Corbin has been excellent in his last five starts, giving up no more than two runs in any of his starts while posting a 2.60 ERA and striking out 20 with 10 walks in 27 2/3 innings. The 35-year-old was outdueled by last year's American League Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, who had a perfect game going into the sixth frame. Although Corbin has been pitching well, Friday was only the first time he's gone seven innings, and it was his first quality start of the season. Overall, he has a 3.15 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 20:12 K:BB in 31 2/3 frames. Corbin's lack of swing-and-miss stuff makes him volatile on a start-to-start basis.

Washington Nationals infielder Jose Tena will retreat to the bench for Friday's series opener against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals at Nationals Park. Veteran Amed Rosario is making the start at the hot corner and is batting sixth against Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde. Tena has been playing regularly at third against right-handed pitchers for the Nationals, but he's gone just 1-for-20 with a double, one walk and eight strikeouts in his last seven games. The 24-year-old left-handed-hitting Dominican has yet to homer and is slashing an uninspiring .220/.246/.305 with seven RBI and five runs scored in his 59 at-bats in 2025. Rosario has been better but still doesn't offer DFS managers much upside offensively. The 29-year-old has hit .279 (19-for-68) with two homers and nine RBI. He's also hit .188 with a .376 OPS in 16 career at-bats against Fedde.

Washington Nationals right-handed pitching prospect Cade Cavalli (elbow) will make the start for Triple-A Rochester on Friday, according to The Washington Post's Spencer Nusbaum. Cavalli had to skip just one start after exiting his outing early on April 29 due to arm fatigue. The team's No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery. In his three minor-league rehab starts to this point (one each with Single-A Fredericksburg, Double-A Harrisburg and Rochester, Cavalli has allowed three earned runs on six hits while walking four and striking out nine in 11 innings. The former 22nd overall pick in 2020 out of Oklahoma made his big-league debut in 2022, giving up seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings of work before getting injured. The Nats aren't going to rush him back in 2025, so fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to return until some point in the second half.