Observations from Nats' first week of regular season

There’s only so much you can take away from the first six games of a new year. But dang it, we will try.

The Nationals’ first week of the 2025 season hasn’t gone totally according to plan. Their 1-5 record doesn’t look good on paper. But digging a little deeper, you start to see some positives they can hold their hats on.

Here are some observations from the Nats’ first week of play …

KEIBERT RUIZ IS HOT
Ruiz’s struggles in 2024 are well known. After he missed a lot of time early in the season with the flu and lost almost 20 pounds, he never fully recovered. He finished the year with a .229 average, .619 OPS, 13 home runs and 57 RBIs in 127 games last year, producing just 0.6 bWAR.

This year, he looks to be in much better shape and it’s paying off.

Not only has Ruiz started all six games at catcher, he’s recorded a hit in all six outings, going 8-for-21 (.381) with two homers, one double and a 1.249 OPS. He’s also struck out only once to one walk and one hit-by-pitch to help his .435 on-base percentage and .714 slugging percentage.

Ruiz has been so hot, manager Davey Martinez has already moved him up to third in the lineup for the past three games and to the cleanup spot for one.

Behind the plate, Ruiz has also looked a lot better. He’s recorded three fielding assists and has caught 2-of-4 would-be basestealers. And he entered yesterday leading the major leagues in catcher’s caught stealing above average, per Statcast. Yes, it’s a super small sample size for everyone, but him leading the majors in any defensive metric is noteworthy.

DYLAN CREWS IS NOT
The former top prospect and No. 2 overall pick has really struggled at the plate to start the season.

Crews hasn’t recorded a hit in five games so far, having only reached base once via a walk and striking out 10 times. He even struck out a stretch of eight consecutive at-bats Saturday and Sunday against the Phillies, including five fans in a row on just three pitches.

Martinez already gave him a day off Tuesday to try and reset him, and then had him start in center field for Wednesday’s finale in Toronto.

The good news: Crews hasn’t let his tough time batting affect his defense. He nearly made a spectacular catch in deep right-center yesterday, the ball popping out of his glove as he crashed into the fence, and then started a perfectly executed relay for an out at the plate. Then moments later, he made an incredible catch, sprinting to his right and making a diving grab to end the inning.

PITCHING RESULTS SPLIT BETWEEN ROTATION AND BULLPEN
On the mound, the good news is the Nats’ starting pitching has been giving them a chance to win.

The first time through the order plus MacKenzie Gore’s second start, all five Nats starters have completed at least five innings. Michael Soroka was the only one to give up more than three runs on Monday, but we learned he was dealing with a cramp in his right biceps muscle and is still scheduled to make his next start Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

The bad news is the bullpen has had a tough time getting going. Kyle Finnegan and Jorge López are the only relievers to have not yet given up an earned run, but each of them have had their issues as well. Finnegan has walked two of the nine batters he’s faced and López has walked and hit two of the eight batters he’s faced.

The Nats’ team ERA is 5.02 after yesterday’s loss to the Blue Jays, 26th in major leagues at the end of the game. But the rotation's ERA is 3.34, which is 13th in the majors after yesterday’s game, and the bullpen's ERA is 7.78, which is 28th.

Amy Jennings and I are excited to be podcasting again for this Nats season on “District Chat,” your new audio home for our national pastime in our nation’s capital. You can check out our full breakdown of our observations from the season’s first week in yesterday’s episode by either watching here or listening on your favorite podcasting platform here.

“District Chat” will be live on the MASN Nationals Facebook page and YouTube channel every Wednesday at 1 p.m. And if you still follow the artist formerly known as the “MASN All Access Podcast: Nationals,” there is nothing more you need to do because “District Chat” is on the same feed!

We hope you like and subscribe to “District Chat” and follow along for the latest Nationals news, talk and exclusive interviews all season long!