It has been established that the Washington Nationals bullpen is a trash can fire. They have the worst bullpen era in baseball. Newcomers like Colin Poche, Lucas Sims, and Jorge Lopez are not the answer there. However, the Nationals have several young bailouts in Cole Henry and Jackson Rutledge.
Like most relief pitchers, Henry and Rutledge are both failed starters. But they failed for a variety of reasons. Henry was purely related to health. He dominated on the mound after winning his second round pick from LSU. But he simply wasn’t enough for the mound.
Since drafted in 2020, Henry has only been able to convene 130.1 Minor league innings. Henry had to undergo the same thoracic outlet syndrome surgery that ended Stephen Strasburg’s career. However, it appears that Henry has returned from surgery and found his own.
On his first three big league excursions, Henry has It’s gone 2.2 innings with four strikeouts. The thing looked very clear. After Colin Pouch made yet another, Henry cleaned it up and went back to strikeout. Fastball has a lot of life, and he then throws dirty curveballs. These are his two main pitches, but he also has a sinker and a changeup.
Cole Henry already has at least a medium leveraged pen arm appearance. One thing is certain: he upgrades like Lucas Sims and Colin Pouch. The NAT should monitor his workload and avoid overusing him due to the history of his injuries, but he was always a stud when he pitched.
Jackson Rutledge, meanwhile, is a starter who failed due to poor performance. After becoming the first round pick in 2019, Rutledge Posted Over 5 ERAs in over 400 minor league innings. After a horrifying 2024 in Triple A, NATS decided to make the 6’8 right hand a relief pitcher.
So far, this transition has been smooth for Rutledge. He made four appearances with a 3.86 ERA posted. 11 Strike Out In seven innings. The walks are high, there are five, but he has time to figure it out.
NAT uses Rutledge in a multi-inning mop-up type role, but I think NAT can use him in higher leverage situations. To me, Rutledge looks the sharpest in the first inning of his outing. His broken ball looks sharper and the heater has more lifespan. He also loses some orders as he gets deep into his outing.
The Rutledge is tilted significantly towards the cutter and slider, and uses more than 50% broken balls. Some cutters are similar to fastballs, while Rutledge is like a slider in its movement profile, while the slider is almost like a sweeper. Both have been generated whiff percentage Over 40%.
His heater is in the mid-90s, but it’s pretty bland in shape, so it’s easy for a batsman to get. So I’m why he loves him with those broken balls and splitters. Like Henry, he’s ready to be a middle rescuer, and I think he’s probably even lower.
Jose a Ferer and Kyle Finnegan give the nut a 1-2 punch behind the bullpen. But the problem was with everyone else. Jackson Rutledge and Cole Henry can provide some answers. Even if they’re not proven, they deserve the chance for people like Sims and Pouch who can be unstable and hit. The Washington Nationals need to make the bullpen fresh, and Jackson Rutledge and Cole Henry can become part of his bullpen revival.
