Major League Baseball

Washington Nationals: A.J's Cole Value Heading Into 2017

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:01 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Ricky Keeler/FanSided via District on Deck

With the Washington Nationals lacking starting rotation depth, A.J. Cole could play a pivotal role in the 2017 season

The Washington Nationals gave up most of their starting pitching depth when they dealt Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez to the Chicago White Sox in the Adam Eaton trade. While the Nats boast one of the top rotations in baseball, injuries do have a chance of happening.

When you look at this starting rotation, Joe Ross and Stephen Strasburg each have had to miss time the last two seasons because of injuries. If that were to happen again in 2017, the “next man up” as of right now is right-hander A.J. Cole.

Due to the injuries to Ross and Strasburg last year, Cole was one of the pitchers that stepped into the rotation. He made eight starts and went 1-2 with a 5.17 ERA in 38.1 innings. Before Cole got the call-up, he had success at triple-A Syracuse. Over his final five starts, he had a complete game and a 2.80 ERA.

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While the ERA was a bit high, Cole went up against some tough lineups when he got called up and handled himself well. In fact, his only win of the season came against Noah Syndergaard and the Mets when he held New York to one run over six innings on September 2.

One of the problems for Cole last season was that teams were making good contact on his fastball. According to Brooks Baseball, opposing hitters had a .289 average against Cole’s heater (26-for-90) including four home runs.

Last offseason, the Washington Nationals went and signed Bronson Arroyo to a minor league deal for depth, but Arroyo never threw a pitch for the big league club. Later in the year, the organization signed Mat Latos, who did make one start, but ended up getting hurt during that outing.

With the lack of great starting pitching options on the free agent market, the Nats will have to most likely look internally for an emergency starter or a long relief role. Cole seems to be the favorite for the long relief role heading into spring training.

At the very least, Cole looked like a much different pitcher in 2016 compared to his Major League debut in April 2015 when he gave up nine runs in two innings against the Atlanta Braves. He showed much better poise and kept the Nats mostly in the ball game.

The starting rotation is pretty much set for the Washington Nationals heading into the 2017 season. But, while many fans will watch the progression of prospects Austin Voth and Erick Fedde, keep an eye on the improvements of Cole, who figures to play a pivotal role for the Nats this coming season.

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