Washington Nationals

Trea Turner is beginning rehab in Florida for Nationals

Fri, Jul 21st 5:39am EDT
By John Aubin

Trea Turner (wrist) has begun rehabbing at the Nationals' spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Jamal Collier of MLB.com reports. (Source: www.nationals.mlb.com)

Fantasy Impact: The Nationals have yet to release a timetable for Turner's return, although the team has indicated that he's on schedule. Fantasy owners need to keep the 24-year-old second baseman stashed on their DL.

Gio Gonzalez gives up four runs in loss to Angels

Thu, Jul 20th 5:17am EDT
By John Aubin

Gio Gonzalez allowed four runs in 5 2/3 innings Wednesday in a loss to the Angels. Gonzalez also gave up five hits, walked three while striking out three.

Fantasy Impact: Gonzalez is having one of the best seasons of his career and it looked like Wednesday's matchup against the Angels was a good one for the lefty. But he struggled with his control and took his fifth loss of the season. Gonzalez owners shouldn't worry and expect him to bounce back in his next start.

Ryan Madson throws scoreless eighth inning in Nats debut

Wed, Jul 19th 9:20am EDT
By John Aubin

Ryan Madson threw a scoreless eighth inning in Tuesday's win over the Angels. Meanwhile, Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth inning to record a save.

Fantasy Impact: It looked like Madson would get the nod as closer over Doolittle when both pitchers were acquired from the A's. Madson could still get more chances than Doolittle and fantasy owners will have to let this play out before knowing who the Nationals closer will be. It should be noted that Doolittle was used against three left-handed batters who struggle against LHP so this may have been due to matchups and not Doolittle getting the first shot at the closer role. It should also be noted that even with the lefty-on-lefty matchups, Doolittle's outing was far from clean.

Sean Doolittle picks up first save in Nationals uniform

Wed, Jul 19th 9:15am EDT
By John Aubin

Sean Doolittle gave up a run on a walk and a hit in the ninth inning but held on to record his first save for the Nationals in Tuesday's win over the Angels.

Fantasy Impact: Doolittle was acquired from the A's with fellow reliever Ryan Madson. It was not known which relief pitcher would be the closer but Doolittle received the first opportunity while Madson pitched the eighth. Both pitchers could get save chances which makes it hard to decide which one to own.

Anthony Rendon hits 20th homer

Wed, Jul 19th 8:15am EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Anthony Rendon went 2-for-4 with a homer as the Nationals beat the Angels 4-3 on Tuesday night.

Fantasy Impact: The homer was Rendon's fourth in the past four games. He's now batting a scorching .476 in the month of July, raising his season long average to an impressive .320. He's one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now.

Jayson Werth backs off rehab program

Wed, Jul 19th 8:15am EDT
By Blaine Blontz

Jayson Werth continues to experience pain in his foot when he runs, and he's been backed off his rehab program as a result. (Source: Chelsea Janes on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Werth has been sidelined since early June, and there's no return in sight for the veteran slugger. He was off to a nice start to the season, but it's not clear if he'll return in time to help fantasy owners down the stretch.

Bryce Harper has another monster game

Wed, Jul 19th 8:13am EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Bryce Harper went 4-for-4 with a homer and a triple as the Nationals beat the Angels 4-3 on Tuesday night in Anaheim.

Fantasy Impact: Harper hit a solo homer in the first inning Tuesday night, which was followed by a Mike Trout solo shot in the bottom of the frame. That was Trout's only hit of the night and Harper collected three more. In 13 games in July Harper is hitting .471 with six homers.

Stephen Strasburg stikes out 11 in win over the Reds

Tue, Jul 18th 5:43am EDT
By John Aubin

Stephen Strasburg (10-3) threw seven innings of one-run ball in Monday's win over the Reds, striking out 11 while allowing four hits and one walk.

Fantasy Impact: It looks like the nine days of rest during the All Star break was good for Strasburg as he was dominant on Monday against the Reds. The 28-year-old righty now has 10 wins, 3.31 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 139 strikeouts on the year.

Matt Wieters hitless on Monday

Mon, Jul 17th 6:48pm EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Matt Wieters went 0-for-3 with an RBI on Monday as the Nationals defeated the Reds in Cincinnati.

Fantasy Impact: The donut dropped his season long batting average to .245 after the 31-year-old hit .301 in the month of April. It's not unusual for catchers to wear down as the season goes on, but Wieters owners may want to begin looking elsewhere for a catcher. He has just three homers since April 30th.

Brian Goodwin homers as Nats win

Mon, Jul 17th 6:45pm EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Brian Goodwin went 2-for-5 with a homer and a double for the Nationals on Monday as the club defeated the Reds 6-1.

Fantasy Impact: Goodwin was hitting out of the leadoff spot in this one, which makes him a quality DFS play whenever this occurs. He doesn't need to be owned in standard season long leagues, though. For the year he is batting .245 with eight homers and just two stolen bases.

Ryan Zimmerman busts out of his slump

Mon, Jul 17th 6:43pm EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for-5 with his 20th homer of the season on Monday afternoon as the Nationals beat the Reds 6-1.

Fantasy Impact: The 32-year-old has been struggling in July. Even after today he is still batting just .229 for the month. However, today's big game was certainly encouraging for fantasy owners to see. Zimmerman is now batting .327 for the season.

Tanner Roark strikes out five in win over Reds

Mon, Jul 17th 5:44am EDT
By John Aubin

Tanner Roark (7-6) allowed three runs, none earned, off four hits and three walks while striking out five over six innings during Sunday's victory against the Reds.

Fantasy Impact: Roark had his best performance in awhile as he was able to drop his ERA below five for the year as it now stands at 4.98. The 30-year-old righty is no longer a must own in standard fantasy leagues but owners should keep an eye on Roark to see if he is over his slump.

Adam Lind hits seventh homer

Sun, Jul 16th 8:09pm EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Adam Lind went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBIs on Sunday as the Nationals beat the Reds 14-4.

Fantasy Impact: Lind continues to excel in limited playing for Washington this year. He is now hitting .312 with a .917 OPS. He was filling in for a slumping Ryan Zimmerman today.

Daniel Murphy homers twice

Sun, Jul 16th 8:03pm EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Daniel Murphy had a huge game on Sunday, going 3-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs as the Nationals beat the Reds 14-4.

Fantasy Impact: Murphy is now batting .348 with 16 home runs through the middle of July. After Jose Altuve he is likely the best fantasy option at second base these days.

Joe Ross transferred to 60 day disabled list by Nationals

Sun, Jul 16th 3:40pm EDT
By John Aubin

Joe Ross was transferred to the 60-day DL on Sunday, Dan Kolko of MASN Sports reports. (Source: Dan Kolko on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: This move was to be expected following the news that Ross would require Tommy John surgery, which will end his 2017 season. The 24-year-old pitcher can be dropped in all leagues except for Dynasty leagues where he can be stashed.

Max Scherzer strikes out 10 in another win

Sun, Jul 16th 4:14am EDT
By Clinton Ho

Max Scherzer continued his dominance and struck out 10 batters on Saturday against the Reds. He picked up the win going six innings while giving up just three hits.

Fantasy Impact: Scherzer is having a Cy Young caliber season and now owns a 2.01 ERA to go with a .80 WHIP. He's also leading the National League with 183 strikeouts. He'll face the Diamondbacks in Arizona for his next outing on Friday.

Michael Taylor continues his great play

Wed, Jul 5th 8:06am EDT
By Dan Davis

Michael Taylor stayed hot Tuesday, going just 1-for-4, but scoring two runs and collecting a stolen base.

Fantasy Impact: Taylor has been a nice surprise this year for the Nats, and with their injury situation they've certainly needed it. He's having a breakout season, and is on pace to blow by all of his previous career highs.

Koda Glover dealing with 'severe' rotator cuff inflammation

Thu, Jun 29th 9:32am EDT
By Dan Harris

Koda Glover told reporters that he hurt his lower back by trying to pitch through "severe inflammation of the rotator cuff," according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports. (Source: Mark Zuckerman on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Glover has yet to resume throwing and, in light of this news, seems like an extreme long shot to ever get the closer's job back in Washington. If you're struggling for roster spots and don't have room for a DL stash, you can feel free to drop Glover.

Blake Treinen works clean inning in Nationals win

Fri, Jun 9th 12:06am EDT
By Kevin Black

Blake Treinen threw a scoreless ninth inning in a non-save situation on Thursday for the Washington Nationals. Treinen did not allow a baserunner and struck out two, helping to lower his ERA to 6.39 on the year.

Fantasy Impact: Treinen fell out of Dusty Baker's good graces after his well documented struggles out of the gate this year when he emerged from Spring Training with the closer job. So far in 2017, his strikeouts have dipped, his walk rate is slightly elevated, and his home run rate has jumped. Furthermore, his ground ball percentage has taken a step back, while the hard contact and medium contact percentages have gone up. This is to say, do not expect Treinen to re-emerge in too many high leverage spots until a prolonged period of success changes the equation.

Stephen Drew homers

Thu, Jun 8th 10:50pm EDT
By Brendan Tuma

Stephen Drew collected two hits on Thursday night, including a solo homer of Ubaldo Jimenez.

Fantasy Impact: It was Drew's first homer of the year. He is now batting .240 on the year coming off the bench in Washington.

Matt Albers pulled before logging save

Tue, Jun 6th 11:48am EDT
By Kevin Black

Matt Albers was once again on the hill for a save opportunity for the Washington Nationals on Monday night. After Koda Glover labored the previous inning, racking up a number of pitches in the effort, Dusty Baker went with Albers to close this one out. After Cody Bellinger smoked a double and another powerful lefty in Yasmani Grandal stepped up to the plate, Baker went in a different direction.

Fantasy Impact: For NL-only leaders that picked up Albers as a cheap way to back in to saves, this one hurts. Albers has produced great numbers so far in 2017, as he is striking out around a batter per inning and walking less than two per nine innings. In holds leagues, Albers has some value at the moment as he is in Dusty's good graces. As long as he keeps producing this will not change.