The case for the Nationals to win it all

Once again, the Washington Nationals look more like a fantasy team then ball club that actually exists in real life. They are a stunning collection of mostly mid-prime talent that has sent 12 representatives to the All-Star Game over the past three years. Led by  former MVP Bryce Harper and the two-time reigning NL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, they are once again a formidable collection of star power.

However, with great power comes great responsibility, and the Nationals are annually baseball’s most underwhelming team. Despite eclipsing 95 wins and winning the National League East five times in the last six years, they have yet to set foot in the National League Championship Series. That weight continues to grow more and more heavy, as the date with their prodigy Harper’s free agency inches closer. With him could go their window of opportunity as well.

New skipper Dave Martinez is in his first professional managerial gig, becoming the club’s third skipper in the last four years. He inherits an impressive collection of talent but also takes on an undeniable urgency to find answers to the franchise's repeated shortfalls.

Will the Nationals finally live up to their full potential, or will the confounding times continue in the nation’s capital?

Why the Nationals could win it all in 2018:

The NL’s most dangerous lineup. While everything orbits around Harper, he is far from the only weapon that makes this group go. Daniel Murphy and Anthony Rendon have both finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in the past two years, while the re-emergence of Ryan Zimmerman last summer saw him become an All-Star starter at first base. Trea Turner is the most dangerous speed/contact threat in the game, and Michael Taylor could be due for a breakout as well. This is all before accounting for Adam Eaton, who will finally have the chance to make an impact atop the Washington lineup after being limited to only 91 at-bats last year after a torn ACL and meniscus in his left knee ended his year in April.

They can win any starting pitching showdown. With a rotation headlined by the game’s most dominant starter, Max Scherzer, the Nats are always equipped to go toe-to-toe on the mound. Over the two seasons, Scherzer has gone 36-13, with a 2.75 ERA, 0.937 WHIP and 552 strikeouts, good for a whopping 14.1 Wins Above Replacement and two Cy Young Awards. Stephen Strasburg also joined him as a Cy Young finalist last year after picking up 15 victories, a mark that Gio Gonzalez reached as well. Add in Tanner Roark, A.J. Cole and the recently acquired Jeremy Hellickson, and the depth is as substantial as the top-end talent. No other team in game derives more of its potency from its starting rotation than the Nats, and it has served them well.

The bullpen is in a much better place. Nobody made a more direct impact after relocating last summer than Sean Doolittle. The Nationals’ bullpen was in a state of emergency before the lefty took over the ninth inning after coming over from the A’s last July, converting only 66 percent of their save opportunities. After arriving in D.C., Doolittle made good on 21 of 22 save chances and smoothed over the only rough edge the club had. Add in the presence of Ryan Madson and Brandon Kintzler, and suddenly the club has one of the most potent late-inning situations in the National League.

Why they won't win it all in 2018:

Is the pressure insurmountable at this point? There is only so long people can slam their heads against a wall before they give up on ever getting through it. Could this club be at that point? After winning a fourth NL East title in the past six years by a 20-game margin, 2017 ended in the all too familiar fashion yet again, as the Nats were bested in five games by the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS. The mental toll that such falls from grace can take is real, and this version of the club may simply be resigned to the difficulties of breaking through to next round. With a new manager calling the shots, the pressure of making the most of perhaps the final shot with both Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy in tow and the equally potent Cubs and Dodgers in their way, could the Nationals be destined to always be the best men but never the groom?