Matt of Matt's Bats: Could Ross be real steal from offseason deal?

Last offseason, Nationals fans were expecting the team to make a big move for a second baseman, after Asdrubal Cabrera left in free agency and people thought Danny Espinosa's hitting troubles would continue. Instead, the Nats were part of a blockbuster three-team deal that landed them a shortstop prospect and a pitching prospect.

On Dec. 17, the Tampa Bay Rays acquired Rene Rivera, Burch Smith, Jake Bauers, Steven Souza Jr. and Travis Ott. The San Diego Padres got Gerardo Reyes, Jose Castillo, Ryan Hanigan and Wil Myers. And the Nats got Joe Ross and a player to be named, who we now know is Trea Turner. When the deal was announced in December, many Nats fans were sorry to see Souza go, especially after he made the amazing catch for the last out in Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter. But with a crowded outfield, the Nats were able to turn one bench player into 2 prospected.

The buzz on Turner was strong. A lot of smart baseball analysts saw him developing into a great player and the Nats' shortstop of the future. Many people thought Turner was the jewel in the trade. But not as much was known about Ross. Since he's been called up to the majors to fill in for the injured Stephen Strasburg and Doug Fister, we know more - and Nats fans have a lot to get excited about with Ross. He's really good. He has a 2.66 ERA and 23 strikeouts in three starts. Following his outstanding 11-strikeout performance on Friday night, it's time to learn a little more about him.

Ross was born on May 21, 1993, in Berkeley, Calif. His older brother, Tyson Ross, was drafted in the second round of the 2008 draft and he's now a starting pitcher for the Padres. Joe Ross was drafted 25th overall by the Padres in the 2011 draft out of Bishop O'Dowd School in Berkeley. He signed with the Padres and was assigned to the Arizona League Padres. In 2013, he moved up to the Fort Wayne Tin Caps and then played for the Lake Elsinore Storm in 2014. He never played at the major league level with the Padres, and therefore never shared the Petco Park clubhouse with his brother.

He had an 8-6 record and an ERA over 3.00 at Lake Elsinore last year. When he was acquired by the Nats, he was sent to Double-A Harrisburg. He posted a 2.81 ERA with the Senators. Scouts must have seen something special in Ross, because after playing only a few short weeks in Harrisburg, he was called up to the majors on June 6. Although being outdueled by Jason Hammel in his debut, Ross pitched well in his first game, but lost to the Chicago Cubs. Ross than pitched lights-out in Milwaukee last week and against the Pirates this past weekend to bring his record to 2-1.
Ross' main pitches are the two-seam fastball, change-up and slider, which breaks to the left, kind of like a cutter. His mechanics are very similar to his brother's. They grew up in the same house in the Bay Area and were taught by the same teacher, so it's not surprising that they are similar. I think it's cool that the brothers are pitching the same way and are effective at it.

The question now is, is Ross for real? I think so. We've seen other minor league pitchers make outstanding debuts at the major league level for the Nats, but then lose steam once hitters caught onto their game. The most recent example is Taylor Jordan, who pitched for the Nats in 2013. He had a decent debut year, but in 2014 he only pitched 25 innings and gave up 16 earned runs for a 5.66 ERA. In his appearances earlier this year, he posted an 8.44 ERA and only rang up five strikeouts.

But I think Ross is different. He was able to face the Pirates, a really good team that was riding an eight-game win streak, and strike out 11 of them. He seems to be everything the Nats needed while Strasburg and Fister were injured. He might be able to stick around at the big league level and help out the struggling bullpen (which I wrote about in my post last week).

Everyone thought Turner was the prize in the deal, but it's starting to look like maybe it's Ross.

Ten-year-old Matt blogs about the Nationals at Matt's Bats. Follow him on Twitter: @MattsBats. He shares his views weekly as part of MASNsports.com's initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our little corner of cyberspace. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.