Blevins looking to build off strong finish to 2014

The overall numbers posted by Jerry Blevins during the 2014 season probably aren't to the 31-year-old left-hander's liking.

After back-to-back seasons of posting an ERA at or below 3.15 and a WHIP under 1.075, Blevins saw his numbers inflated in 2014, as he pitched to a 4.87 ERA and 1.238 WHIP in 64 games spanning 57 1/3 innings. He did have some impressive peripheral numbers, however, seeing his home runs per nine innings get cut in half from where it stood the prior two seasons, and seeing his strikeouts per nine innings spike.

Blevins didn't fare nearly as well against right-handed hitters in 2014 as he had throughout his career (righties hit .298/.398/.423 against him last season, compared to a career slash line of .249/.338/.391) and he hit a couple of rough patches throughout the middle of the season.

Down the stretch in 2014, however, was when Blevins really started to shine. He was unscored upon in eight of his nine September appearances, holding hitters to a .200/.286/.200 slash line in that time.

In his final five regular season games coming in out of the 'pen, Blevins retired 16 of the 18 batters he faced, including a whopping 11 via strikeout.

That strong conclusion to the regular season helped Blevins lock down a spot on the Nationals roster for the National League Division Series against the Giants, and the lefty continued his stellar performance in the postseason, retiring all 10 batters he faced over three appearances, striking out two.

I'll do some quick math for you: Blevins retired 26 of the last 28 big league batters he faced in 2014.

Talk about something to build off of going into the offseason.

Blevins then took part in the Japan All-Star Series, where a group of major league players took on a group of Japanese All-Stars in a friendly matchup. That event put a few extra innings on Blevins' arm, which he has said he didn't mind, given that he tends to throw a lot in the offseason anyway.

Now Blevins' task will be to repeat the success that he had down the stretch in 2014 over a longer span in 2015.

Partly due to his role as a middle reliever and partly due to his inconsistencies throughout the season last year, Blevins often found himself working in low-leverage spots in 2014, when the Nats either were ahead by a lot or trailed by a lot. Down the stretch, that changed, however; his final 15 appearances (regular season and postseason combined) came when the Nats were ahead by two or fewer runs or trailed by two or fewer.

Given that the Nats will also return left-hander Matt Thornton in 2015, manager Matt Williams will have his pick of at least two southpaws in the bullpen, and both have put up strong numbers against left-handed hitters in their careers. We'll see how their roles evolve, and whether Blevins is able to carry his strong finish to last season into this upcoming one.