Revisiting our 2020 season predictions

The 2020 Major League Baseball season was, to put it mildly, unlike any we've ever experienced. We knew that going into it, and we knew that probably meant some unexpected things would happen along the way.

That was especially true for the Nationals, whose season didn't go anything like anyone expected. For the most part.

Despite the unusual nature of this year, we still published our annual Nats season predictions on opening day. And though we were horribly wrong about a lot of things, we actually did pretty well in a few categories.

In keeping with tradition, we're republishing our predictions now that the season is over. Hey, it's only fair that we're accountable for our mistakes, right?

OK, here we go ...

HOW MANY HOME RUNS WILL JUAN SOTO HIT?
Brittany Ghiroli (The Athletic) - 16
Byron Kerr (MASNsports.com) - 16
Jessica Camerato (MLB.com) - 15
Craig Heist (106.7 FM) - 15
Pete Kerzel (MASNsports.com) - 15
Bill Ladson (MLB.com honorary) - 15
Todd Dybas (NBCSportsWashington.com) - 13
Mark Zuckerman (MASNsports.com) - 13
Jesse Dougherty (Washington Post) - 12

Correct answer: Despite a 17-game homerless stretch to begin September, Soto still finished with 13 homers in 47 games played this shortened season.

Winner: Well, looks like two of us nailed it. Congrats to Todd Dybas. But more importantly, congrats to me.

HOW MANY BASES WILL TREA TURNER STEAL?
Todd Dybas - 28
Brittany Ghiroli - 26
Bill Ladson - 20
Craig Heist - 18
Mark Zuckerman - 17
Jessica Camerato - 16
Jesse Dougherty - 16
Byron Kerr - 14
Pete Kerzel - 14

Correct answer: We keep thinking Turner is going to run wildly and shatter stolen base records. Truth is, he runs a good amount, but not an excessive amount. As such, he finished this season with 12 steals.

Winner: Everybody overshot the actual number, but we'll give partial credit to MASNsports.com's own deadly duo of Byron Kerr and Pete Kerzel for going over by only two stolen bases.

WHAT WILL HOWIE KENDRICK'S BATTING AVERAGE BE?
Jessica Camerato - .321
Bill Ladson - .320
Todd Dybas - .318
Mark Zuckerman - .316
Byron Kerr - .315
Jesse Dougherty - .292
Pete Kerzel - .281
Brittany Ghiroli - .270
Craig Heist - .270

Correct answer: In an injury-plagued season that limited him to 100 plate appearances, Kendrick hit a disappointing .275, the second-lowest batting average of his career.

Winner: In a close contest, Brittany Ghiroli and Craig Heist (who each came in five points too low) edged out Kerzel (who overestimated by six).

WHO WILL BAT THIRD THE MOST TIMES?
Jesse Dougherty - Juan Soto
Craig Heist - Juan Soto
Byron Kerr - Juan Soto
Bill Ladson - Juan Soto
Mark Zuckerman - Juan Soto
Todd Dybas - Howie Kendrick
Jessica Camerato - Starlin Castro
Pete Kerzel - Starlin Castro
Brittany Ghiroli - Trea Turner

Correct answer: Remember when this was a hot topic way back in spring training? Davey Martinez thought about hitting Trea Turner third, then seemed to settle on Starlin Castro. But when Castro got hurt, Howie Kendrick ascended to the spot. Then when Kendrick got hurt, Asdrúbal Cabrera got some opportunities. In the end, though, it was the best hitter on the team who hit third the most. The way it's been in baseball for a very long time. Soto started 20 games in the 3-hole, ahead of Castro (13), Cabrera (11) and Kendrick (10).

Winner: A large group us of saw this coming. So Jesse Dougherty, Craig Heist, Byron Kerr, Bill Ladson and I will just have to split up the prize money five ways.

HOW MANY GAMES WILL CARTER KIEBOOM START AT THIRD BASE?
Bill Ladson - 50
Jessica Camerato - 40
Jesse Dougherty - 40
Todd Dybas - 38
Byron Kerr - 35
Pete Kerzel - 32
Brittany Ghiroli - 28
Mark Zuckerman - 27
Craig Heist - 15

Correct answer: It was a strange year for Kieboom. He was named the starting third baseman on the first day of summer training, then sat on the bench opening night as Cabrera got the nod instead. The two shared the job for a few weeks, then a struggling Kieboom was demoted. Once he returned, he was in the lineup almost every day, until he hurt his hand and ended the season on the 10-day injured list. After all that, Kieboom started a total of 30 games at third base.

Winner: It's another tie. Pete Kerzel went two over. Brittany Ghiroli went two under. They each get credit for coming closest.

WHO WILL START THE MOST GAMES AS CATCHER?
Jessica Camerato - Yan Gomes
Jesse Dougherty - Yan Gomes
Todd Dybas - Yan Gomes
Brittany Ghiroli - Yan Gomes
Byron Kerr - Yan Gomes
Pete Kerzel - Yan Gomes
Mark Zuckerman - Yan Gomes
Craig Heist - Kurt Suzuki
Bill Ladson - Kurt Suzuki

Correct answer: Would you believe both Gomes and Suzuki started 30 games? Both completed all 30 games and never needed to be subbed out. Even the difference in innings caught was as small as it gets: 252 for Gomes, 251 2/3 for Suzuki!

Winner: Well, either we all won or we all lost. What do you say?

RANK JUAN SOTO, BRYCE HARPER AND ANTHONY RENDON BY OPS.
Jesse Dougherty - Rendon, Harper, Soto
Brittany Ghiroli - Rendon, Soto, Harper
Craig Heist - Rendon, Soto, Harper
Pete Kerzel - Soto, Rendon, Harper
Bill Ladson - Soto, Rendon, Harper
Jessica Camerato - Soto, Harper, Rendon
Todd Dybas - Soto, Harper, Rendon
Byron Kerr - Soto, Harper, Rendon
Mark Zuckerman - Soto, Harper, Rendon

Correct answer: Soto had a monster year, with a 1.185 OPS that was the best in the majors since Barry Bonds in 2004 (minimum 195 plate appearances). Harper, who bounced up and down between some big highs and some low lows, still finished with an excellent .962 OPS. Rendon, after a slow start to begin his career with the Angels, got hot and finished at .915. Those are three really good hitters and three really good seasons. The guy who's still in D.C., however, was clearly the best of the bunch.

Winner: Six out of the nine of us predicted Soto would finish on top. Four of those six predicted Harper would finish second and Rendon third. So our winners are Jessica Camerato, Todd Dybas, Byron Kerr and yours truly.

WHO WILL LEAD THE PITCHING STAFF IN WINS? HOW MANY?
Bill Ladson - Stephen Strasburg, 9
Byron Kerr - Stephen Strasburg, 8
Brittany Ghiroli - Max Scherzer, 8
Jessica Camerato - Max Scherzer, 7
Jesse Dougherty - Stephen Strasburg, 7
Craig Heist - Stephen Strasburg, 7
Pete Kerzel - Stephen Strasburg, 7
Mark Zuckerman - Stephen Strasburg, 7
Todd Dybas - Patrick Corbin, 7

Correct answer: It wasn't surprising that Max Scherzer led the staff in wins. It was shocking that he led the staff with five wins.

Winner: I mean, two writers (Jessica Camerato and Brittany Ghiroli) did pick Scherzer to lead the staff. But they overshot the total by too much to give them much credit.

WHO WILL LEAD THE PITCHING STAFF IN STRIKEOUTS? HOW MANY?
Bill Ladson - Stephen Strasburg, 150
Todd Dybas - Max Scherzer, 132
Craig Heist - Max Scherzer, 102
Byron Kerr - Stephen Strasburg, 98
Pete Kerzel - Max Scherzer, 96
Brittany Ghiroli - Stephen Strasburg, 95
Jessica Camerato - Max Scherzer, 94
Mark Zuckerman - Stephen Strasburg, 91
Jesse Dougherty - Max Scherzer, 87

Correct answer: It was a disappointing season for Scherzer in many ways. But he still struck out 92 batters in 12 starts. Over a normal, 34-start season, that would equate to 261. Yeah, Scherzer is still really good at striking out opposing hitters.

Winner: A solid prediction by Jessica Camerato, who both picked Scherzer to lead the staff and only missed his total by two strikeouts.

WHO WILL START MORE GAMES: AUSTIN VOTH OR ERICK FEDDE?
Jessica Camerato - Austin Voth
Todd Dybas - Austin Voth
Pete Kerzel - Austin Voth
Mark Zuckerman - Austin Voth
Jesse Dougherty - Erick Fedde
Brittany Ghiroli - Erick Fedde
Craig Heist - Erick Fedde
Byron Kerr - Erick Fedde
Bill Ladson - Erick Fedde

Correct answer: Because of Stephen Strasburg's injury, both of the Nationals' No. 5 starter candidates spent most of the season in the rotation. But only Voth made every turn in the rotation. In spite of his struggles, he started 11 games to Fedde's eight.

Winner: Four of us (Jessica Camerato, Todd Dybas, Pete Kerzel and I) got it right. Truth be told, though, if Davey Martinez had more viable alternatives, someone else probably would've supplanted Voth at some point.

WHO WILL LEAD THE PITCHING STAFF IN SAVES? HOW MANY?
Todd Dybas - Sean Doolittle, 27
Craig Heist - Daniel Hudson, 21
Brittany Ghiroli - Daniel Hudson, 15
Byron Kerr - Daniel Hudson, 15
Jesse Dougherty - Sean Doolittle, 10
Bill Ladson, Sean Doolittle, 10
Pete Kerzel - Sean Doolittle, 9
Mark Zuckerman - Daniel Hudson, 8
Jessica Camerato - Sean Doolittle, 6

Correct answer: With Doolittle clearly not right to begin the season, Hudson became the full-time closer. And though he struggled at times and blew five saves, he still managed to close out 10 wins.

Winner: Jesse Dougherty and Bill Ladson both predicted the correct save total ... but the wrong reliever. I had the correct reliever ... but the wrong total. I still think I deserve to win this one. (I do know this: Todd Dybas could not have been more wrong with his prediction in this category).

WHAT WILL THE BULLPEN'S ERA BE?
Pete Kerzel - 3.64
Bill Ladson - 4.00
Brittany Ghiroli - 4.10
Jesse Dougherty - 4.12
Todd Dybas - 4.23
Craig Heist - 4.25
Mark Zuckerman - 4.38
Jessica Camerato - 4.58
Byron Kerr - 4.95

Correct answer: The Nats bullpen looked like a legitimate strength early on. But the rotation's struggles put too much strain on the group. And the injuries that followed to Sean Doolittle, Will Harris, Tanner Rainey and others only made things worse as the bullpen limped through the finish line with a 4.68 ERA (24th out of 30 clubs).

Winner: Most of us thought there would be more significant improvement this year. Most of us should have been more pessimistic, like rookie beat writer Jessica Camerato, who wins another category.

WHAT WILL THE NATIONALS' RECORD BE?
Bill Ladson - 50-10
Pete Kerzel - 41-19
Craig Heist - 38-22
Jessica Camerato - 36-24
Jesse Dougherty - 36-24
Todd Dybas - 36-24
Brittany Ghiroli - 35-25
Byron Kerr - 35-25
Mark Zuckerman - 33-28

Correct answer: As you know by now, the Nationals finished 26-34. And only got there by winning seven of their last nine.

Winner: There are no winners here. Only losers. Lots of losers.

HOW WILL THE NL EAST FINISH FROM TOP TO BOTTOM?
Jessica Camerato - Nationals, Braves, Mets, Phillies, Marlins
Todd Dybas - Nationals, Braves, Mets, Phillies, Marlins
Bill Ladson - Nationals, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Phillies
Jesse Dougherty - Braves, Nationals, Mets, Phillies, Marlins
Byron Kerr - Braves, Nationals, Mets, Phillies, Marlins
Brittany Ghiroli - Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Mets, Marlins
Craig Heist - Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Mets, Marlins
Pete Kerzel - Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Mets, Marlins
Mark Zuckerman - Braves, Nationals, Phillies, Mets, Marlins

Correct answer: The Braves, as many expected, won their third straight division title. The Marlins, as nobody expected, finished second and reached the expanded postseason. The Phillies were third. And the Nats and Mets wound up tied for fourth.

Winner: Well, considering we all had the Nationals finishing no worse than second, you can't really say any of us won this category. But partial credit to the six of us who at least correctly picked the Braves to win the NL East.

HOW WILL THE NATIONALS' SEASON END?
Jessica Camerato - Win World Series
Byron Kerr - Lose World Series
Todd Dybas - Lose NLCS
Brittany Ghiroli - Lose NLCS
Craig Heist - Lose NLCS
Bill Ladson - Lose NLCS
Pete Kerzel - Lose NLDS
Jesse Dougherty - Lose NL Wild Card Game
Mark Zuckerman - Lose NL Wild Card Tiebreaker

Correct answer: You know the correct answer. You don't need me to tell you.

Winner: You don't need me to tell you.