Washington Nationals: mlb FUTURES & BETTING ODDS

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 2021 OUTLOOK

After a surprising run to a World Series title as a wild card in 2019, the Nationals came back to earth a bit in 2020, finishing under .500 and tied for last place in the National League East. Part of the drop was due to Max Scherzer posting an uncharacteristic 3.74 ERA and his highest walks rate in a decade. Steven Strasburg also started only two games due to carpal tunnel syndrome in his hand, an injury that has long-term concerns. The rotation behind those two has plenty of question marks as well. Juan Soto could be an MVP candidate if he improves the way he did from 2019 to 2020. 

Dave Martinez did a great job managing this club to a hot streak in the second half of 2019 and led them to a World Series title, but there may be too many holes on this club now that has a lot of money tied up in Scherzer and Strasburg for them to not to contribute at a high level.

2021 Featured Players

The need for Strasburg to stay healthy and Scherzer to return to form go without saying, but Washington also needs a better season from Patrick Corbin, who was 2-7 with a 4.66 ERA a year ago. Daniel Hudson appears to have lost his closing job to Tanner Rainey after posting a 6.00 ERA in 2020. 

On offense, Soto could push 40 home runs and 120 RBI, all while being a .300 hitter. And he's only 22. Trey Turner and Starlin Castro also had nice seasons in 2020. Castro will likely be replaced at some point this season by second-base prospect Luis Garcia. Victor Robles struck out too much, which neutralizes his best asses—his speed. A big acquisition was trading with Pittsburgh for Josh Bell, who slugged 37 home runs in 2019 but only had eight in last year's shortened season.

Bet on the Washington Nationals! Washington Nationals Odds for 2021

The Washington Nationals odds to win the World Series are 30/1, which is actually lower than the 55/1 they were at one point during the 2019 season, and people who took a flyer on the Nats that year ended up very happy (their odds at the beginning of that year were 21/1). A bet on the Washington Nationals to win the National League and return to the World Series stands at 18/1, and the Washington Nationals odds to overtake Atlanta and win the NL East (something that did not do in 2019) pays out at 13/2 (+650). 

Washington Nationals Logo, Uniform & Stadium History

The Nationals moved to Washington from Montreal in time for the 2005 season. The team finished in last or fourth place in each of their first seven seasons. After drafting Strasburg and Bryce Harper, the team started winning, winning the division four times in six seasons from 2012-17 under managers Matt Williams and Dusty Baker and fellow star players Anthony Rendon, Jordan Zimmermann, and Ryan Zimmerman. Problem is, the team couldn't get out of the first round of the playoffs, losing in the division round each time. 

Not many experts thought that losing Harper would be the thing that Washington was missing, and while the Nats missed Harper's production, they did go on to finally win a playoff series in their first appearance as a wild card team, and then they didn’t stop, beating the favored Houston Astros in seven games to win their first World Series title, taking Game 7 on the road. 

The Nationals began play at RFK Stadium in 2005, which was the home of the Washington Senators in the 1960s before they moved to Texas to become the Rangers. They moved to Nationals Park in 2008 and have been there since. 

Nationals Park bears a resemblance to Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, and the Nats' uniforms are similar to the Phillies as well. The Nats wear a red hat at home with a white W on the front. Their uniform features the same W crest on the left-hand side and uniform number on the right. The road grays employ a navy blue cap with a white W outlined in red. The word "Washington" is written across the front in red with a navy trim. There are navy blue and red alternate jersey tops the team can also choose from.

2020 Record: 26-34, Fifth Place in National League East