2020 WASHINGTON NATIONALS PREVIEW
2019 STATISTICS
RECORD – 105 wins / 74 losses (includes playoffs)
OVERALL MONEY -$1450 (based on $100 wagered per game)
RETURN ON INVESTMENT +5.5%
HOME RECORD – 54 wins / 35 losses (+$390)
ROAD RECORD – 51 wins / 39 losses (+$1060)
RECORD AS FAVORITE – 73 wins / 47 losses (-$20)
RECORD AS UNDERDOG – 32 wins / 27 losses (+$1470)
OVER/UNDER RECORD – 87 Overs / 83 Unders / 9 Ties
2019 OFFENSIVE STATS
BATTING AVERAGE – .265 (7th in the Majors)
OPS (on base + slugging) – .796 (6th)
HOME RUNS – 231 (13th)
RUNS PER GAME – 5.39 (6th)
2019 PITCHING STATS
ERA – 4.27 (13th)
FIP (fielding independent pitching) – 4.14 (7th)
WHIP (walk + hits allowed per inning) – 1.29 (8th)
STRIKEOUT to WALK RATIO – 2.92 (9th)
RUNS ALLOWED PER GAME – 4.47 (9th)
ASA WASHINGTON ANALYSIS – After a disappointing 2018 finishing just 2 games above .500, the Nationals bounced back in a big way in 2019 beating Houston as a +180 underdog in the World Series. Amazingly this team won the crown despite facing elimination 5 different times in the playoffs. This team won 93 regular season games in 2019 which didn’t seem likely after their 24-33 start over the first 2 months of the season. Washington was actually tied with Miami, a team that went on to win only 57 games, for LAST place in the NL East in late May. Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin are arguably the best top 3 starters in MLB. However, Scherzer was limited at times last year with back & neck problems while Corbin and Strasburg both threw over 200 innings. Because of that, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a cumulative drop off from the big 3 this season. Offensively the Nats landed in the top 10 in most key statistics but they have to replace their top offensive player as 3B Anthony Rendon moved on to the Angels. Rendon, who finished with a .319 batting average, 34 HR’s, and 126 RBI, had a WAR (wins above replacement) of 6.33 last season which was the 2nd highest rating on the free agent market. They really didn’t add anyone near his ability and his loss is big to say the least. Despite winning the World Series, their win total prior to the MLB shutdown was 89. While we expect Washington to be very good again, we think it will be tough for them to get back to 90+ wins this season.
