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2015 Washington Nationals Season Predictions | MLB Betting Preview & Odds

2015 MLB Team Season Previews – Nats

An embarrassment of riches. That has to be how you describe this year’s Washington Nationals roster. Bryce Harper, the young, cocky, sublimely talented outfielder for DC, already asked ‘Where’s my ring?’ and although the sentiment is self-absorbed, it may be hard to argue with the logic.

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2015 MLB Team Previews – Washington Nationals

NL East Odds: -400
NL Championship Odds: 3/1
World Series Odds: 6/1

Manager: Matt Williams
2014 Record: 96-66, 1st in NL East

The Nats’ starting pitching rotation is deep to the extent that Tanner Roark, a solid young pitcher that threw nearly 200 innings (198.5), won 15 games and posted an ERA of 2.85 last year, is coming out of the bullpen.

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It’s flatly hard to imagine, as Roark would be a welcome second or third starter in most teams’s rotations with stats like that.

The crazy thing is, it’s not just arms, either. Washington’s batting order is pretty stacked one through nine.

Speedy leadoff man CF Denard Span will miss Opening Day with an injury, but DC is still loaded with talent – shrewd draft picks and acquisitions married to good development.

Second/3B Anthony Rendon was Washington’s best position player last season and he bats second. He’s followed up by clinicial run producers like veteran OF Jayson Werth, young stud Harper and do-everything IF Ian Desmond.

Veteran corner infielder Ryan Zimmerman will make the permanent transition from third to first base this season to preserve his aging frame. He can still rake from the six hole.

Even catcher Wilson Ramos is one of the best options in the Senior Circuit at his position. Manager Matt Williams has tons of talent to roll out on a daily basis in the nation’s capital.

Washington’s top-tier rotation will include Jordan Zimmermann, Stephen Strasburg, the underrated Doug Fister and a big-money acquisition from the Detroit Tigers, strikeout-dealing Max Scherzer.

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Pitching injuries are an inevitability with the marathon 162-game schedule, so the Nats are well-covered if there is attrition and if not, they can deal before the trade deadline from a position of strength, if they need an additional piece to put them over the top.

Crazily, it’s not just the rotation and bats that are strong either: DC has one of the league’s best bullpens. Provided closer Drew Storen can return to dominance, the Nats have a deep bullpen that features righties Tyler Clippard and Craig Stammen to go with southpaws Matt Thornton and Jerry Blevins.

When Washington gets a lead, the ‘pen will typically hold it down.

It appears that the only team that can match up with the Nationals in terms of raw talent is the fat-payrolled Los Angeles Dodgers, but as we all know, games are not played on paper. Washington is the prohibitive NL favorites if not World Series favorites, but it still must go out and do it for six months.

Still, in a rather sagging NL East, Washington fans must be pretty excited. This is the best-positioned team at least since the strike-shortened 1994 season, when the franchise was known as the Montreal Expos.

The only teams in the East that even appear to be attempting to keep pace with the Nats are the New York Mets and the Miami Marlins; though both those squads have notable strengths, they also have deficiencies that the Nationals do not.

With 96 victories in 2014, Washington seems to be almost a shoo-in for 100 wins this year.

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Of course, best-laid plans can combust in any given year – look at Texas’s wave of injuries last season if you need any proof – but while the rest of the Nationals’ roster and brain trust might not be so brash as Harper, the thought process is likely along the same vein.

This is a squad that has quietly but steadily been preparing a juggernaut since leaving Montreal for the 2005 season. All the draft pick hits and smart free-agent money seems to be bearing fruit at the right time.

Look for the Nationals to win their division rather easily and make a deep postseason run. Just how deep depends on whether or not this very talented squad gets complacent.

2015 Prediction: 101-61, 1st NL East

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By James Hayes

James has been naming every player on the EA Sports video game rosters for half a decade now, he’s finally putting his knowledge to better use writing for us here at CappersPicks.com. Your comments are welcome below…Give Us Your Take!