Joe Ross’ Power Sinker Finally Joins Him In Nationals Rotation

After a horrid start to the season, Joe Ross rediscovered his sinker and made his case to stay in the Nationals rotation after Max Scherzer returns.

Considering the 6-month long marathon that is the MLB season: it’s funny how quickly player evaluations can change.

Before the trade deadline, the Washington Nationals plan to fill out their rotation was, well, suspect. With Max Scherzer on the shelf, 40% of their starts were ticketed for this unrivaled trio: contact-dependent Erick Fedde, the injured Austin Voth, and the unequivocal, unrivaled trainwreck known as Joe Ross.

Fedde has the inside track on the fifth spot in the rotation, and despite a hard-to-look-at 1.33 K/BB across 66 innings, he’s earned it: 3-2, 4.09 ERA/5.21 FIP, 1.2 rWAR on the year. No need to doff your cap, but that kind of production is justifiably rotation-worthy so long as the four jerseys preceding his in the rotation continue to read Scherzer/Strasburg/Corbin/Sanchez.

But they aren’t any longer. With Scherzer out for a couple of weeks, the Nationals have turned to Joe Ross – and he’s been a revelation.