If the Nationals make the dangerous decision to keep the veteran away, Jose a Feller should get the first crack in nine innings. The 25-year-old left-hander is likely to be in the air and appears to be ready for the 2025 breakout.
After being signed in the Dominican Republic in 2017, Feller advanced through the minor league system and made his debut towards the end of the 2023 season. He was expected to create a first-day roster in 2024. Shoulder injury The first half of the season took him by the sidelines.
When he returned he looked better than ever. His speed has departed Averaging Average 98 mph to 95.5 mph. Feller had also turned his four-seam fastball into a heavy sinker that produced ground balls at exceptional speeds. He produced ground balls with 57.3% clips. This is elite. Only average fire angle of batters 2 degrees For Feller’s sinker. They simply couldn’t lift the pitch because of that heavy sink.
The sinker depends on pitchfellers, but he throws 58.8% of the time, but he also has a very good changeup. It is a huge weapon for him against right-handed batsmen, making him more than just a left-handed expert. His ChangeUp produced a WHIFF rate of 39.6%. He doesn’t shoot a lot of batters, but he relies more on the grounders, and the four-seamer, who mixed his changeup with him, was good at cleaning up batters with two strikes.
Feller also made great strides in his control. He only walked 4.7% of batters in 2024. With such things and the ability to avoid free passes, Ferrer has all the material to become a high-end rescuer in the Zack Britton mold. He may not get the strikeouts like Prime Craigkinbrel, but keeping the ball on the ground with a 98 mph sinker is pretty good to be able to.
The options for veterans with closer experience, like Jorge Lopez, are probably someone who likes to enter the spring, but if he has a good camp, I’ll give Feller a job. Lopez is 32 years old in a one-year transaction. Personally, I would like to see Ferrer get a closing person instead. That’s good for his development, and he may already be better than Lopez.
Ideally, NATS can bring proven veterans closer, such as Kenley Jansen and David Robertson, who can show off the ropes. From here, regardless of what the NAT does, Ferrer pitches in high leveraged innings. At just 25 years old at the beginning of the season, Jose a Ferer is both the present and future of the Nationals bullpen.
