MacKenzie Gore is Not the Only Nationals Pitcher Finding Their Stride This Season

The Washington Nationals have had a tough start to their 2025 season, putting together a 22-27 record, which is good for fourth in the National League East, ahead of only the Miami Marlins. This is heavily a product of their team being highly reliant on their young core of players, and as they continue to work through the growing pains of the MLB level, the team will still need time to turn things around fully.

The team seems to have found a young ace in MacKenzie Gore, who has been outstanding throughout the 2025 campaign and continues to develop his game each start he makes. Due to this, he has been getting substantial media attention, and for good reason, as he has been truly outstanding, especially for someone still developing their game.

One of the other starting pitchers in the rotation has been overlooked, however, and that is Jake Irvin. The 28-year-old has not posted exceptional stats as of yet, but he has shown flashes of promising talent and has found consistency that he had not yet displayed prior to this year. With a 3.88 ERA, 1.160 WHIP, 40 strikeouts to 17 walks, 10 home runs allowed and a 3-1 overall record, he has work to do, but he has also significantly improved from 2023 and 2024.

What Parts of Irvin's Game Have Improved Since 2024?

When looking further into what may have changed in Irvin's pitching over the course of the last year, there are a few notable items to look into. First off, his pitch mix, as he has started to work in his changeup significantly more in the last two seasons compared to 2023, while using the sinker and four-seam fastball less. Additionally, in 2025, his curveball has actually become his most utilized pitch, and when taking a look at the results, it is clear why.

Throwing the curveball for Irvin has been an easy out for him this year, as opposing players have a batting average of .187 against it, along with a .352 SLG, 24.0% whiff rate, and 20.0% put-away rate according to Baseball Savant. All of these metrics are near the best when it comes to his pitches, or in some cases, the best of the bunch, so utilizing it more often is working in his favor.

While many of his break metrics remain around the same level, he has dropped his arm angle quite a bit, going from 32 degrees in 2023 to 28 degrees in 2025, a rather sharp angle that nearly runs into the side-arm category. The fact that he has maintained his elite extension metric (currently 93rd percentile in the MLB) is impressive, as he is releasing the ball close to the plate, and in turn, has been able to generate more productive pitches.

As he continues to make minor tweaks to his game and put them into action, it could keep changing things up for him, and if it results in positive results, it is hard to complain about any of them.