At this time last season, the Nationals owned the worst record in baseball. They also owned one of the worst bullpens.
After 22 games in 2010, the franchise is off to its best start since moving to Washington.
The reason for the turnaround?
The bullpen.
Last year, the Nats had the lowest save percentage in the majors. Their bullpen had the highest ERA (5.09) and ranked 28th in opponent’s batting average (.268).
This year, offseason acquisition Matt Capps leads the league in saves (10) and the team is second in save percentage.
But he’s not their only unhittable reliever. Setup man Tyler Clippard has allowed just one earned run in 16.2 innings pitched (0.54 ERA).
The setup and closer roles were not identified entering the 2009 season — which led to two complete revamps of the bullpen by July. It wasn’t until mid-June that Mike MacDougal emerged as the team’s full-time closer.
The Nationals don’t have a single holdover from their 2009 Opening Day bullpen. And that’s a good thing.
With Drew Storen — the Nats’ No. 10 pick in 2009 — being called up to AAA Syracuse on Wednesday, the bullpen might only improve later this year.
Storen, pegged as Washington’s future closer, had a 0.96 ERA in seven games for AA Harrisburg and will likely be in the Nats’ bullpen by July.
