Lopez building consistency as he builds innings in Harrisburg

So far so good for right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, who had the end of his 2015 campaign derailed due to minor back tightness.

Lopez used an outstanding spring training to catapult himself into a steady start at Double-A Harrisburg.

"He had a wonderful spring training," said Nationals pitching coordinator Paul Menhart as the season kicked off. "His arm's felt great. He's made every start. This is the year that we get to see what we drafted."

Lopez's most recent outing was his best to date. On May 3 against Hartford in a no-decision, Lopez went 6 1/3 innings, allowing only three hits and two runs (one earned) with one walk and seven strikeouts.

He has now struck out 25 batters in his last three starts, and he has made consistent starts every five or six days from April 10 until today.

Lopez is 0-3 with a 4.13 ERA in five starts spanning 28 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old Dominican has struck out 26 batters and surrendered five homers and nine walks.

Last year, because of the injury situation and to be cautious, Lopez was limited to 19 starts. But this year, the Nationals expect him to go longer into the season and deeper into games.

"For him, he had over half a season under his belt last year," Menhart said. "This is going to be a first full season where, depending on the level that he gets to, I don't see him being limited very much at all throughout the minors. You usually average around 28 starts.

"So first month or so, (he will go) probably five or six (innings per start), then take the reins off of him a little bit. If he can get through eight and nine (innings) towards the end of the year, so be it, that'd be great. Pitch efficiency-wise, if he can handle it, that's great."

This is a good sign that the Nationals still have Lopez slated as a starter at the next level, and will test his endurance as the season moves along.

Menhart said the Nationals focused on one particular pitch for Lopez in the offseason.

"The thing that we worked on in instructional league was to tighten up the slider and he's done a good job with that," Menhart said. "Now it's time to face different uniforms under the lights. His changeup (was) pretty consistent this spring and his fastball - he's commanding it fairly well."