Washington Nationals: filling the All-Time Nats roster

The Starting Rotation

Jeremy Hellickson, Pedro Astacio, Odalis Perez, Jason Simontacchi, Jeremy Guthrie

Hellickson is the staff ace in this rotation. His solid 2018 season led to a reunion the following year, where he didn’t fare as well. Injuries derailed him and he was left off the postseason roster, though he still gets a World Series ring. He announced his retirement at the end of the season, locking in his place on this team.

A 37-year-old Astacio made a name for himself both in Los Angeles and Colorado. He then bounced around the league some before settling in Washington in 2006. He made 17 starts and won five-game, posting an earned run average a shade under six.

The 2008 Nationals lost 102 games, yet when the season started they had hope. That hope was the opening day starter, Odalis Perez. Unfortunately Perez was a long ways from his All-Star self who won 15 games in 2002 for the Dodgers. He finished ’08 with a 7-12 record and 4.34 ERA.

Simontacchi doesn’t quite have the resume as the other starters in the rotation, only playing three years in St. Louis prior to joining the Nationals staff. He did win 11 games in 2002 for the Cards before collapsing and heading to the bullpen in 2004. He didn’t pitch for three years prior to the Nationals bringing him in for the 2007 season. 13 starts and 6 wins later, Simontacchi was out of the game for good.

The Nationals have had such great luck with pitchers not pitching for years at a time they decided to bring in Jeremy Guthrie for a whirl in 2017. He last pitched in 2015 for Kansas City and made just one start in DC, surrendering ten runs in two-thirds of an inning. His 135.00 ERA that year is a blemish on a uninspiring body of work where he led the league twice in losses.