A Washington Nationals Podcast and Blog

Tuesday Notes From Fredericksburg: Bennett, Doolittle Shine

On $2 Taco Tuesday, the Fredericksburg Nationals resumed a previously suspended game in the second inning and played a night cap in an unconventional double header. The Fred Nats prevailed in the first game, 7-5, thanks to a Paul Witt home run in the bottom of the 8th. In the second game, the Nats were […]

An Early Assessment of the Nats’ Offseason Acquisitions

The Nationals went into the season with only a few offseason signings that didn’t necessarily generate any headlines. The organization mostly stuck to their strategy of seeking out veterans to sign to short deals. With the sale of the team in limbo, they didn’t look to make a big splash but to simply find players […]

The FredNats are a Team to Watch

The Washington Nationals have not gotten off to a good start to the 2023 season. Of course, this was to be expected. Despite the few young and exciting players, a power-lacking lineup and subpar pitching combine into a perfect storm of hard-to-watch baseball. However, a much more interesting Nationals team can be found just 50 […]

2023 HSHH Season Predictions

With Opening Day festivities kicking off today, it’s time for our annual Half Street High Heat Nats predictions. A bunch of us from the HSHH team got together and made our season predictions and while some of them are expected, we also have some hot takes in here.   What will the Nationals record be? […]

My Top 5 World Baseball Classic Moments

After just 15 days, the 2023 edition of the World Baseball Classic is over and boy, was it a memorable one. Here are my (Monty) Top 5 moments from the WBC plus some honorable mentions. Honorable Mentions South Korea and Japan played in Pool B on March 10th with the Japanese dominating their rivals by […]

Nats Prospects or: The Art of Tempering Expectations

Nationals fans need any hope they can get right now. After heartbreaking trades of generational talents, major superstars facing career ending injuries, and an abundance of losses, Washington fans are looking for any glimmer of light they can find. The main source of hope for the future amongst the fanbase has been the young, promising […]

The 5 Most Important Players in the Nationals Organization in 2023

The 2023 season is going to be a very important one for the Nationals organization. There are multiple players both at the major league level and the minor league level that have something to prove and that are critical to the rebuild. First thing’s first, when I say the 5 most important players in the […]

The Deepest Outfield Farm System in Baseball

The Nationals are no stranger to top outfield prospects. Arguably the most hyped prospect in MLB history, Bryce Harper, came up through the Nationals organization, quickly becoming the cornerstone for a team beginning to come into its own. Years later, Juan Soto slugged his way near the top of the Nationals prospect rankings before breaking […]

Can Joey Meneses Live Up to His Projections in 2023?

Joey Meneses is a player that took the MLB by storm in 2022. The 30 year old Culiacan, Mexico native was called up for his first year in the majors last season and quickly proved himself to be a powerful bat in a lineup that desperately needed it. He put the Nationals in the spotlight […]

Don’t Worry, Team USA Will Be Just Fine

The World Baseball Classic is in full swing, ladies and gentlemen! Baseball’s version of the World Cup has come once again, and there have already been some stunning results. The Czech Republic, with a roster built mostly on part-time players that are accountants, firefighters, investors, and the like, upset China at around 4:30 AM Eastern […]

The World Baseball Classic Finally Returns

It’s been six long years but the World Baseball Classic is back and with 20 teams playing around the globe in the first round, it’s better than ever. The first two games in Pool A were played last night and this morning in Taiwan, with the Kingdom of the Netherlands coming from behind in the […]

Jarlin Susana: The Triple-Digit Teenager

The Nationals gained 6 players in the infamous trade that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the San Diego Padres. In addition to veteran Luke Voit, who is no longer with the team after being non-tendered after 2022, they acquired prospects CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, and Jarlin Susana. CJ […]

The Nationals Finally Beat the Shift

Banning the defensive shift was undeniably a controversial decision amongst baseball fans. Many have differing opinions about how it affects the sport. Some fans believe that it gives batters an easier job by not having to morph their hitting style or capabilities to beat the shift. Conversely, others see it as an opportunity for defenders […]

Washington Nationals Top 10 Prospects (5–1)

The future stars are coming to Washington. Over the last three drafts combined with trades with competing franchises yearning for superstars, Mike Rizzo and the Nationals have brought several high-profile talents into the organization. Eight years of contention and low-ceiling players being drafted in the first round have come and gone, and the Nationals have […]

Zach Bryzkcy: The Nationals’ Closer of the Future

While the importance of developing highly rated first-round picks cannot be overstated for a rebuilding ball club, a key factor separating successful and unsuccessful teams is their ability to routinely find and develop major league talent from more humble beginnings. In a rebuilding phase, the 2022 Nationals’ restricted payroll and depleted roster led them to […]

Reliable Relievers Returning From the 2022 Nats

Believe it or not, there was actually something solid about the 2022 Washington Nationals pitching staff. Amidst all of the defeats, several members of the Nats’ bullpen remained somewhat sturdy and managed to make up for a small amount of the mistakes the starting rotation made. A handful of relief arms stood out as being […]

Weekend Prospect Report Card: Chase Dollander Start #2

Season Stats: 1-1, 3.48 ERA, 19 K’s, 2 BB’s, 10.1 IP in 2 Games Started Last Week: 4.2 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K’s, 1 HBP on 81 pitches vs Arizona This Week: 5.2 IP, 5 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 12 K’s, 1 HBP on 95 pitches vs Dayton University of […]

Washington Nationals Top 10 Prospects Part I: #10-6

It’s a new age in Washington DC. The organization is no longer building elite rosters and looking to add established major-league talent. Mike Rizzo and the front office are looking to build up the franchise’s scouting and player development sectors after selling off all their elite talent from last year’s deadline to now. Although the […]

Recap: The Manny Machado Contract Drama

Spring Training is officially underway for all 30 teams. College baseball is back in full swing. Manny Machado is in the news again.  Baseball is back alright. As teams settle into their preseasons in Arizona and Florida, a lot of eyes have recently been focused on the contract drama surrounding the San Diego Padres and […]

NCAA Weekend Preview: Top 3 Series to Watch

We’re coming up on the second weekend of College Baseball and here are the Top 3 Series to Watch this weekend. #15 Maryland at #9 Ole Miss The 2-2 Maryland Terrapins head to Oxford to take on the 4-0 Ole Miss Rebels in a series that has the potential to be one of the more […]

Looking Back at the Washington Nationals 2021 Trade Deadline

In July of 2021 the Washington Nationals entered the first stage of their current” rebuild”/ retool by trading away future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer along with speedy shortstop Trea Turner to the Dodgers in exchange for two Top 100 prospects. Those two prospects turned out to be Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz. Josiah Gray, […]

Weekend Prospect Report Card: Rhett Lowder Start #1

It’s time for our final Weekend Prospect Report Card and this report is for Wake Forest’s ace Rhett Lowder. Each week I’ll be trying to provide report cards for the Top 10 College Draft Prospects throughout the NCAA baseball season. On Saturday, I released my first Weekend Report Card for the #2 draft prospect and  […]

Weekend Prospect Report Card: Paul Skenes Start #1

Each week I’ll be trying to provide report cards for the Top 10 College Draft Prospects throughout the NCAA baseball season. On Saturday, I released my first Weekend Report Card for the #2 draft prospect and  top pitcher in the draft Chase Dollander, which can be seen by clicking here. Yesterday, we released the Opening […]

Weekend Prospect Report Cards: Position Players Week 1

Each week I’ll be trying to provide report cards for the Top 10 College Draft Prospects throughout the NCAA baseball season. On Saturday, I released my first Weekend Report Card for #2 draft prospect and the top pitcher in the draft Chase Dollander, which can be seen by clicking here. Further pitching Weekend Report Cards […]

The Decline of Stephen Strasburg

Stephen Strasburg is one of the first names that comes to mind when people think of the Nationals. He’s thrown a total of 31 ⅓ innings since he signed his 7-year megadeal with the Nats back in 2019, but the 34 year old former ace has been with the organization since 2009 and was a […]

It’s Now or Never for the Nationals’ 2018 and 2019 First Round Draft Picks

It’s no secret that the Nationals have been very hit-and-miss in their history with first-round draft picks. All-Stars Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, and Anthony Rendon headline the Nationals’ biggest successes while more recent first-round picks such as Seth Romero (released due to off-the-field issues), Erick Fedde (Career 77 ERA+), and Carter Kieboom (Career 63 OPS+) […]

Taking the Good with the Bad: The 2009 vs 2022 Nationals Seasons

If you are a Nationals fan, you are likely no stranger to defeat. Nationals fans have truly experienced the purest highs –a 2019 World Series trophy– and the seemingly bottomless lows – finishing with the worst W-L record in baseball several years in their franchise history– of the sport that we love. Finishing with a […]

Weekend Prospect Report Card: Chase Dollander

University of Tennesse ace and presumed #2 pick Chase Dollander made his 2023 season debut on the mound for the Vols yesterday against the Arizona Wildcats in the Desert Invitational. The game had been hyped for weeks and dozens of scouts were in attendance as well as MLB All Star Juan Soto and his fellow […]

NCAA Preview: Big 12

Among Power 5 conferences, the Big 12 is middle of the road in strength, trailing both the SEC and ACC while being stronger than the PAC-12 and the Big 10. Last season, the Big 12 had five teams in the Regionals and both Oklahoma and Texas advanced to the College World Series, with Oklahoma ultimately […]

2023 NCAA Preview: ACC

The 2023 NCAA baseball season has officially started and we’re still continuing our season previews here with the ACC and we’ll finish our previews tomorrow with new writer Arthur giving us a preview of the Big 12 conference. You can check out our Big 10 Preview from Monty by clicking here or our SEC Preview […]

The State of the Washington Nationals Rotation

It’s been just a few days since Super Bowl LVII and we are officially in the early stages of the upcoming MLB season as pitchers and catchers reported to spring training as early as this past Monday morning. Pitching has always been the strong suit for the Washington Nationals, but ever since losing Stephen Strasburg […]

2023 NCAA Preview: SEC

It’s no secret to anyone that the SEC is the best conference in college baseball and has been for a long time. Last year alone 9 of the 14 teams in the SEC advanced to a regional, with 4 of them advancing to the College World Series. Every team in the SEC has a chance […]

Wayback Wednesday: Baseball in 1998

Ladies and gentlemen, that’s right! CK is back and writing again.  Going forward, I’m going to be HSHH’s main writer for general MLB, so keep an eye out for a more frequent flow of articles once Spring Training and the World Baseball Classic come into full swing in the days leading up to the regular […]

2023 NCAA Preview: Big 10

We are days away from the start of the 2023 NCAA baseball season so it’s time to begin our season previews, beginning with the weakest “Power 5” conference: the Big 10.  Our staff at HSHH will be previewing the ACC, the SEC, and the PAC-12 over the coming days. A season preview episode of The […]

Predicting the Nats 2025 Roster

It’s always fun to look ahead at what your favorite team might look like 2-3 years down the road, and that’s especially true during a rebuild. The Nats farm system is finally coming along thanks mainly to the Juan Soto trade and also in part to their higher (than we’re used to) draft positions. Separate […]

The Nats Have Some Interesting NRIs This Spring

Given the circumstances, I think we all can say that Mike Rizzo actually had a solid offseason. He wasn’t given a whole lot of money to spend, he’s on an expiring contract and Mark Lerner has shown he’s unwilling to do anything helpful or supportive of the team during this rebuild. It sounds like the […]

Nationals Pre-Season Q&A

Baseball is almost back. The start of spring training is just a few weeks away and soon enough we will see the Washington Nationals back in action. Before spring training begins, a couple of our writers gave their thoughts on some questions regarding the Nationals this season and the overall future of the franchise. Let […]

2023 HSHH Preseason NCAA Top 25

We are just over a month away from the College Baseball season kicking off on February 17th so it’s time for Half Street High Heat’s Preseason Top 25.  A lot of official publications haven’t yet released their preseason Top 25, so we’re ahead of the ball. Below are our rankings and a few thoughts on […]

It’s Time to Re-Evaluate the Rebuild

As the Nationals enter the second full year of their rebuild, it’s time to take a look at the big picture and see where this thing is going. The last two years have been painful. Extremely painful, in fact. We’ve watched the team trade away Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and Juan Soto. That’s one surefire […]

A Couple of Nats Targets Ahead of the Winter Meetings

The Nats successfully finished the 2022 season with the worst record in MLB. On top of that, they have an uncertain ownership situation. With tons of needs, that leaves the team in a less than desirable position heading into the offseason. The Nats did successfully restock their farm system last season thanks to the Juan […]

HSHH Free Agency Predictions!

Free Agency is upon us once again, as it always tends to be one of the most exciting times for baseball all year. This offseason does not look like it will disappoint, as we have some huge names hitting the market for the first time in what will surely shake up the MLB landscape. Here […]

HSHH Postseason Predictions

The playoffs are set (more importantly, the dreadful Nationals’ season is over) and begin today! Just like before any big tournament, it wouldn’t be a tournament if you didn’t give your predictions beforehand! Here are the postseason predictions for the staff here at Half Street High Heat!   Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians Allison: […]

Aaron Judge is Going to Cash in

Before the season, the Yankees offered Aaron Judge a 7-year/$213.5 million deal, which paired with his arbitration salary this season, would’ve guaranteed him 8-years and $230 million. Judge bet on himself. I thought he was dumb for turning it down. After all, from 2018-2020 Judge had only played in 242 of the Yankees 384 regular […]

HSHH Power Rankings: Sept 20th

Welcome to the September 20th edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you […]

Hold or Sell?

As we approach the end of the season, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the roster and see who’s worth holding onto into next season and who might be worth moving on from. It’s been a rough season, but as you look down the current 40-man roster, there are some […]

HSHH Power Rankings: Sept 13th

Welcome to the September 13th edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you […]

MLB Weekday Preview: Two Game Sets and Massive Jays/Rays Series

Aside from Monday Night Football, the week belongs to on and there’s another action-packed slate of Major League Baseball games on tap. After a stretch of good baseball over the past few weeks, the Nationals were swept by Philly over the weekend to end their road trip. This week they return home for the Battle […]

MLB Weekend Preview

Both college football and the NFL are back but baseball is still going on and there’s another action-packed weekend of Major League Baseball on tap. The Nationals are playing good baseball and haven’t lost any of their last three series. This weekend they head to Philly while I’ve highlighted four, yes four, other massive series […]

Adley Rutschman is the Second Coming of Buster Posey

On May 29th, 2010, the San Francisco Giants called up top prospect and catching phenom Buster Posey for a permanent spot on the roster (he’d been called up the previous September for some meaningless AB’s). The Giants were 25-22 and third in the NL West. Bengie Molina, a pretty good defensive catcher, was struggling to […]

No, CJ Abrams Should Not Focus on Trying to Hit Ground Balls

Dave Martinez made headlines throughout Nats twitter (and all of baseball twitter for that matter) with his postgame conference on Monday evening. When asked about CJ Abrams’ breakout game, his first 4 hit game of his career, Martinez said “Talked to him about just hitting hard ground balls.” You can watch the full 27 second […]

HSHH Power Rankings: Sept 6

Welcome to the September 6th edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you […]

MLB Weekday Preview: Birds Battle & AL Central Intrigue

It’s time for another action-packed week of Major League Baseball! The Nationals head to St. Louis following a big series win over the Mets this past weekend, while I’ve highlighted three other massive series with playoff implications to monitor this week. Three teams in the AL Central are within 2 games of each other for […]

MLB Weekend Preview: Small Markets Chase Playoffs

It’s time for another action-packed weekend of Major League Baseball! The Nationals host the NL East leading Mets while I’ve highlighted three other massive series with playoff implications to monitor this week. Small baseball markets such as Seattle, Cleveland, Tampa, and San Diego are all featured as they chase playoff spots. What games are you […]

Hating Someone for Being Good at their Job is Weird

There’s an overwhelming dislike for Scott Boras among fans around the league, but especially among Nats fans. Let’s call it what it is…it’s weird. Boras is far and away the best agent in the league. He represents many of the best players in the league. Among those players are former Nationals, Bryce Harper and Juan […]

HSHH Power Rankings: Aug 30th

Welcome to the August 30th edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you […]

MLB Weekday Preview: MLB’s 2 Best & 2 Worst Face Off

It’s time for another action-packed week of Major League Baseball! The Nationals host the A’s in a match-up of the league’s two worst teams while I’ve highlighted three other massive series with playoff implications to monitor this week. What games are you going to watch? Current Playoff Picture This year will be the first year […]

MLB Weekend Preview: The End of August

It’s time for another action-packed weekend of Major League Baseball! Cade Cavalli is set to make his MLB debut on Friday night for the Nationals, while I’ve highlighted three other massive series to monitor this weekend. What games are you going to watch this weekend? Current Playoff Picture This year will be the first year […]

An Argument Against Ted Leonsis Buying the Nationals

After the events of the Juan Soto trade, the most prominent thing surrounding the Nationals is their potential sale this coming offseason.  A number of suitors have appeared as potential buyers of the team, most remarkably Michael Kim, a private equities investor based out of Seoul who resides in the DMV, and Stanley Middleman, a […]

Nats’ Rule 5 Decisions

The Washington Nationals are the worst team in baseball. They’re likely going to have the first pick in the Rule 5 draft this offseason. They’re also going to have a bunch of tough decisions on who to protect and who not to protect ahead of this year’s Rule 5 draft. I mostly want to touch […]

HSHH Power Rankings: August 23rd

Welcome to the August 23rd edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you […]

MLB Weekday Preview: Interleague & Short Series Abound

What a weekend of baseball! We’re now into late August and for most teams there’s 50 games or left in the schedule to make a run at the postseason. This week, we have a lot of short 2-game series and interleague play headlined by the Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees in New York. […]

MLB Weekend Preview: Astros/Braves and AL Central Intrigue

The AL Central and both Wild Card races are getting tighter. It’s August 19th, and 18 of 30 teams are still in the playoff races. A massive series in the AL Central between the White Sox and the Guardians headlines our weekend, with the Twins hoping to beat up on the Rangers and overtake the […]

Why The Mets, Not The Dodgers, Should Be The Favorite For The NL Pennant

The Dodgers are far and away the best team in Major League Baseball this season. They will likely coast to 105+ win season. But, as we all know, that doesn’t automatically guarantee success in the postseason. With Walker Buehler undergoing season-ending surgery and Clayton Kershaw’s health in doubt (he’s gone home to Texas for a […]

Nats Drafts Under Mike Rizzo

A lot has been made lately of Mike Rizzo’s drafting ability and the Nats player development (or lack thereof). I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the top 3 picks in each of Rizzo’s drafts dating back to 2009, when he took over as GM of the team. The verdict is […]

HSHH Power Rankings: August 16th

Welcome to the August 16th edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you […]

MLB Weekday Preview: AL East Matchups & A Cy Young H2H Battle

Well the Aces Wild weekend is in the books and there’s not much shuffling to be done in the playoff races quite yet. But this week we’ve got 5 head-to-head matchups going between teams in the playoff hunt. The Nationals have a somewhat evenly-matched opponent in the Cubs for three games, so they might really […]

MLB Weekend Preview: Aces Wild?

We are now in the middle of August and some playoff races are getting closer while others are getting broken wide open. There are currently 3 teams on winning streaks over 5 games (Guardians-5, Mets-6, Dodgers-10) and the Phillies just had their 7 game winning streak snapped on Thursday. Now unfortunately, both Cy Young frontrunners […]

Why Everyone Should Root for the Baltimore Orioles

Hey guys! CK here once again. With the Nationals on pace for their worst season in 13 years, there isn’t much to watch unless you’re a fan of watching young guys struggle and aging veterans flail around hopelessly. So…what else is going on in the baseball world? The Yankees are on a skid, as Monty […]

The Nationals and the Shift

The defensive shift in baseball may have its days numbered, but there’s been no news on when or how the defensive shift rule changes will be coming. While those changes may help offense, I’m against banning the shift. Players should learn to hit it the other way if they want to beat it. In 2022, […]

The Evil Empire is Slumping

What’s wrong with the New York Yankees? Since the All Star Break they are 7-13. They’ve lost 5 of their 7 series since then and have been swept by the Astros, Mets, and Cardinals in that time frame. Yes, they’re still 10 games up on the Blue Jays and have a 99%+ playoff chance, but […]

How Camden Yards is Helping the Orioles Remain in Contention

The Baltimore Orioles are a surprising 58-52 and just a half game out of the AL Wild Card spots. They are on the verge of sweeping their division rivals in the Toronto Blue Jays just over a week after trading veteran slugger Trey Mancini and All Star closer Jorge Lopez. Since the debut of top […]

Believe It or Not, But There’s Still Reason to Watch These Nats

This current Nationals team might be the worst team in franchise history, and that’s saying something considering the 2008 and 2009 teams each only won 59 games and were the worst teams in baseball. The Oakland A’s are 4.5 games ahead of the last place Nationals, who look like a lock to be the worst […]

HSHH Power Rankings: Aug 9th

Welcome to the first edition of the Half Street High Heat Power Rankings. Every Tuesday from now until the end of the season, HSHH contributors will submit their individual Top 15 MLB Power Rankings to be averaged out for an official HSHH Power Ranking. Below in parenthesis next to each HSHH contributor’s name you can […]

Where Do the Nats Go From Here?

After trading Juan Soto away, the Nationals are going to stumble into the offseason with no clear path and no star to build around. Sure, they’re rebuilding, we know that much. But with the new CBA in place, the Nationals are unable to receive a top-6 pick in consecutive years. So what’s the incentive to […]

MLB Weekday Preview: The Evil Empire Heads to Pacific Northwest & Battle of the Birds

Another exciting week of baseball is in the books as we make our way through August and towards the playoffs. There are a lot of intriguing storylines to keep track of, including both Wild Card races and the race for the AL Central. There’s also the award races to consider, with both Cy Young frontrunners […]

How to Fix Josiah Gray

When Josiah Gray was traded to the Nationals in the Max Scherzer deal, a lot of hype was surrounding him. He was a top prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system and highly ranked on MLB Pipeline. So far through his career there have been a lot of growing pains. Growing pains with young pitchers is […]

MLB Weekend Preview: Dog Days of August

The trade deadline has come and gone. It wasn’t quite as explosive as we’d have liked, but the big blockbuster was superstar Juan Soto and Josh Bell being trades to the San Diego Padres for a massive prospect haul. There were a few other moves across the league that included players such as Frankie Montas, […]

Gut Check: The Juan Soto Trade

On Tuesday, at the trade deadline, the Washington Nationals made a franchise changing decision. Juan Soto, once considered the cornerstone of the team’s future, is gone. Traded to San Diego along with first baseman Josh Bell, the Nationals decided to pull the plug on Soto after he rejected multiple contract offers from the team. In […]

How The Nationals Can Fix Their Player Development

We are in a new era of the Washington Nationals, thanks to the team trading Juan Soto to the Padres for Mackenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III, CJ Abrams, James Wood, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit. This new era is entirely hanging onto the Nats’ ability to develop not only these prospects but the plethora of […]

Although Shorter than We Wanted, Juan Soto Forever Leaves A Lasting Legacy in DC

It happened. A day many of us hoped we would never have to see. Juan Soto is not on the Nationals anymore. And there’s just so much to take in, so much to reflect on with that simple sentence. Everyone knows what a special talent this guy is. A generational player in every sense of […]

Perspective: The Juan Soto/Nationals breakup hurt, but now it’s time to heal.

Breakups hurt. Any Washington Nationals fan reading this would know. Less than three years after leading the Nats to the first World Series title in franchise history, 23-year-old superstar Juan Soto no longer wears the curly W. After declining the Nationals 15-year, $440M extension at the beginning of July, Washington became resigned to the fact […]

Grading the Nats’ Final Haul

The Nats went into the trade deadline with a ton of ammunition. Although many of their free agent signings didn’t turn out as planned (Nelson Cruz, Caesar Hernandez), they still went into the deadline expecting to bring in a bunch of new faces. Let’s take a quick look at the whopping two deals that Mike […]

MLB Weekday Preview: Trade Deadline Week

Tomorrow is the trade deadline and with rumors and speculation flying around, especially on Nats Twitter, it could be a week to watch some different baseball match-ups. Especially if Juan Soto is gone come Tuesday. As the calendar turns to August 1st, we are officially in the dog days of summer and this is really […]

Half Street High Heat All Star Game and Home Run Derby Predictions

It’s the best day of the baseball season every year – the Home Run Derby! Some of the Half Street High Heat Team provide their predictions on who wins the Derby and the All Star Game. Check it out! Home Run Derby Winner and Runner-Up Nick: Schwarber over Alonso CK: Soto over Rodriguez Danny: Alonso […]

HSHH Draft Prediction

The Nats hold the 5th pick in this year’s MLB draft. Below is a quick synopsis on who some of us at HSHH think the Nats will select in the first round: Monty: If I was Rizzo, I’d want Brooks Lee or Termarr Johnson here, because they have the two best hit tools in the […]

Who Could the Nationals Draft at #5?

We are just a few days away from the 2022 MLB Draft and we are officially in mock draft overload. Various publications have the Nationals taking Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, some have us taking prep outfielder Elijah Green, while Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has the Nats taking Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee. There’s a […]

A Pre-Draft Look at The State of the Nats Farm

In the midst of a rebuild, the state of the Nats farm system is something everyone is keeping an eye on. With mid-season prospect lists coming out and the draft coming soon, I thought it might be a good time to revisit where the farm system stands. Quick spoiler: it’s not pretty. As things stand […]

Measuring How Likely Every Nationals Player on the Active Roster is to be Traded

The 2022 Nationals, as you may know, are extremely bad at baseball. They are a virtual lock to be sellers at this year’s trade deadline, and rightfully so. During last year’s trade deadline, the Nationals were among the most active teams and sold off a ton of expiring contracts as well as Trea Turner to […]

Josh Bell Destinations and Possible Returns

As we get deeper into July, the Nationals’ inevitable firesale will continue to get closer and closer. We’ve talked about some of the guys who could be on the move, but the one who will definitely be moved and who will likely bring back the biggest return is Josh Bell. Bell figures to be one […]

Throwback Thursday: 2011 MLB Draft

In July, the Nationals will have the #5 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. The Nats haven’t had this high of a draft pick in over a decade. In 2011, the Washington Nationals had the #6 overall pick after drafting Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper #1 overall in 2009 and 2010 respectively. And in […]

Why Josh Bell Absolutely Deserves To Be a 2022 National League All-Star

On a team that is 20 games out of first place in June, it can be hard to find bright spots. Unfortunately, the 2022 Washington Nationals fall into this category. The Nationals haven’t had many things go their way this season, but they, like every other team in baseball, will have at least one player […]

Most Overrated and Most Underrated Prospects in the Nats Farm System

The Nats Major League roster isn’t giving us a whole lot of hope recently, so I figured it might be a good idea to check on the next wave of players who might make their way to DC. Obviously all eyes are on Cade Cavalli, who should make his major league debut later this year, […]

2022 College World Series Preview

And then there were eight. It’s the most wonderful time of the year in College Baseball, as the last eight schools standing are making their way to Omaha, Nebraska to compete for a National Championship. And with clear #1 Tennessee now out of the picture, it’s anybody’s race. If you’re looking for big name draft […]

Keibert Ruiz’s Lack of At Bats is Ridiculous

Keibert Ruiz: you know him, you love him. The Nats stud 23-year-old catcher has been one of very few bright spots in arguably the most abysmal season in Washington Nationals history thus far. Acquired as the headlining prospect in the Max Scherzer and Trea Turner deal, Ruiz immediately became Washington’s top prospect and has done […]

What the Nats Roster Might Look Like on August 3rd

Mike Rizzo made it pretty clear during his last interview with The Junkies that the Nationals will likely trade most of their players who are on expiring contracts. That list would include Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, Cesar Hernandez, Ehire Adrianza, Maikel Franco, Dee Strange-Gordon, Steve Cishek, Carl Edwards Jr., Erasmo Ramirez and Sean Doolittle (if […]

2022 NCAA Baseball Tournament Preview

It’s a special day for baseball fans today! The 2022 NCAA baseball tournament kicks off today, and by the time you’re reading this, it’s probably already started, with the first game of the tournament between Miami (FL) and Canisius College (Buffalo, NY) having started at 10 AM.    With a 64-team field full of talented […]

A Look Ahead at Wednesday’s Potential Starter

After Saturday afternoon’s game, the Nationals designated Aaron Sanchez for assignment, leaving an open spot in their rotation. The only surprise in this move was that Austin Voth somehow outlasted Sanchez. Both have been bad, but Voth has arguably been worse. Either way though, neither were safely entrenched on the roster, especially with Stephen Strasburg […]

Half Street High Heat Mailbag

We’re back with our first edition of the 2022 Mailbag series. Today we tackle your questions as the Nationals enter the final few days of May. If you want your question to be answered in next week’s mailbag, make sure to @ us on Twitter @HalfStHighHeat   “Should Davey and Rizzo be on the hot […]

The Strange Case of Erick Fedde

The Nationals pulled out a gutsy victory last night, salvaging the last game of a three game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night by a score of 1-0, pulling the team up to a record of 15-30. The game’s lone run came courtesy of a bases loaded single by Cesar Hernandez in […]

What Could Juan Soto Bring Back in a Trade

It’s not going to happen at the trade deadline. It probably won’t happen over the offseason. But, at some point, the Nationals (and possibly a new ownership group) are very likely going to face one of the toughest questions in the franchise’s history. Juan Soto is controllable for two more seasons after this year and […]