The Under Appreciated Impact of Joe Ross in the National's Rotation
When people think of the top rotations in the MLB, teams like the Cubs, Mets, Red Sox and Nationals all come to mind. When you think of the best pitchers on those teams you’d think Jake Arrieta, Noah Syndergaard, Chris Sale and Max Scherzer. So in a rotation with multiple legitimate aces, how important are the back end guys? In a case like the Washington Nationals, we see Joe Ross as someone that is going to make a huge impact for the team.
Joe Ross is just 23 years old but already has two MLB seasons and 35 games under his belt. And honestly, they were more than impressive. In his 2015 rookie campaign he went 5-5 with a 3.64 ERA, 8,1 K/9, 1.11 WHIP, 0.8 HR/9 and 7.5 H/9. For a 22 year old rookie those numbers show a lot of promise. As expected, Joe was beyond solid in 2016. He went 7-5 with a 3.43 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 1.30 WHIP, 0.8 HR/9 and 9.3 H/9. While some of his numbers were slightly less impressive than his previous season, Ross was still an above average pitcher with a 122 ERA+. We expect Ross to have another very good year in 2017 and if he does, watch out National League.
With Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg in the rotation you might think someone like Joe Ross might have a limited impact. However quite the opposite. Ross has a chance to really make this rotation the best in the majors and with Strasburg’s injury history the Nats are going to need all of their starting pitchers doing their jobs. Joe Ross can put up good enough numbers to be the #3 pitcher on this team. Last year his ERA ranked 21st in the entire National League. With the expected improvement from the youngster he has the potential to rank in the top 15 in the NL in this coming season. Doing so would not only be a big breakout for him but it would also lock the Nationals as the arguably the best rotation in baseball.
If Joe Ross can pitch as well as he did last season, or better, expect the Nationals to be a top team in all of baseball. So while the top two guys on this squad are very important, guys like Joe Ross are what will set them apart from the rest of the league. If Ross is pitching like he can, he will be the best #4 in the entire league and I really believe that.