The Rotation (2026)

[imref]

Its pretty obvious that neither the Nationals nor Littell thought Littell was going to sign for so little. I'm betting that if he had to do it over again, Toboni wouldn't have signed Mikolis.

Alvarez and Lord are both better options IMHO. Alvarez has done nothing but pitch well in every opportunity he's received (2.31 ERA in 5 starts last year, 2.00 ERA in 2 starts this year. )

[tomterp]

Alvarez and Lord are both better options IMHO. Alvarez has done nothing but pitch well in every opportunity he's received (2.31 ERA in 5 starts last year, 2.00 ERA in 2 starts this year. )

Totally agreed, he can't do more than he's done to merit an MLB rotation spot.  But, inevitably pitcher depth gets used.  Somebody's going to get dinged and he'll be up soon enough.

[imref]

Totally agreed, he can't do more than he's done to merit an MLB rotation spot.  But, inevitably pitcher depth gets used.  Somebody's going to get dinged and he'll be up soon enough.

yep. it will be nice at least to have some rotation depth this year with Lord, Gray, and Alvarez.

[aspenbubba]

Totally agreed, he can't do more than he's done to merit an MLB rotation spot.  But, inevitably pitcher depth gets used.  Somebody's going to get dinged and he'll be up soon enough.

We should probably have a poll to see who of the OD starting 5 is the first to go ( not including an injury but performance). My vote is Mikolis.

[aspenbubba]

Well Parker is displaying why he is starting in Rochester

[imref]

Well Parker is displaying why he is starting in Rochester

that was a pretty solid outing.

[imref]

Rotation vs Chicago: Cavalli, Mikolas, Irvin

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Quicker we let Mikolas pitch,  the quicker we can move on

[Smithian]

Mikolas as a back of the rotation inning sponge isn’t bad. Seeing him in game #2 is tough.

[imref]

jake irvin leads the league in stats+

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?month=0&pos=all&stats=pit&type=36&sortcol=12&sortdir=default&team=24&qual=1

[JCA-CrystalCity]

jake irvin leads the league team in stats+

https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders/major-league?month=0&pos=all&stats=pit&type=36&sortcol=12&sortdir=default&team=24&qual=1

that look like your sort. The good news is it looks like his fastball was very good.

MLB-wide, he's 19th in Stuff+ and Cavalli is 30th among 93 starters.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Littell listed as the probable starter tonight. No indication they will use an opener. That may have been a one-off with Schwarber and Harper 2-3.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

It might make sense to split Mikolas and Irvin in the rotation. They are really the 4 and 5. While everyone pretty much has had a comparable number of innings, in terms of quality, Cavalli and Griffin seem to be the ones who can pitch early quality and avoid the knock out. With the off day on Thursday, they have an opportunity to Irvin and Griffin in the rotation.

[imref]

Cavalli vs Skenes tomorrow

[welch]

Mikolas goes to the bullpen. Nats can try Alvarez as a starter. Any of several relievers can visit Rochester.

[imref]

Poulin opens tonight, then the plan is to go to Mikolas for at least 3, and then to Parker. Wiemer should be able to pitch again if needed

[welch]

Can Mikolas even go two innings? And Parker? A 6.08 ERA at Rochester. Meanwhile, Alvarez starts against Buffalo tonight.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Can Mikolas even go two innings? And Parker? A 6.08 ERA at Rochester. Meanwhile, Alvarez starts against Buffalo tonight.

Frankly, we are in the "we'll see" stage of the Miles Mikolas experience. IF he's bracketed by two LHP, chances are the lineup will not be overloaded with lefties. If  he's going to perform, he'll have to start soon.

I think it is interesting that Alvarez is pitching on the same day. You could  see him up soon. As Franny and  Kolko constantly say, we are 4 games in a 17 in 17 day stretch. I can easily see Alvarez up in 6 days in place of Parker to give the rest of the rotation an extra day. If  Mikolas is still flailing, then moving him back to the bullpen as the long guy might happen then. I think Mikolas has this  start and the next to show progress. Alternatively, if Parker does well tonight, he could possibly flip with Mikolas and become a long guy paired with an opener next turn.

[Slateman]

Mikolas has gone <60 pitches his last two starts. He's effectively a long reliever at this point. May as well move him there.

He was brought here to "eat innings." In order to win with him, we have to give him an opener and a long reliever. We're effectively using three pitchers to makeup for his inability to eat innings.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Mikolas has gone <60 pitches his last two starts. He's effectively a long reliever at this point. May as well move him there.

He was brought here to "eat innings." In order to win with him, we have to give him an opener and a long reliever. We're effectively using three pitchers to makeup for his inability to eat innings.

yes. It's unsustainable to go into his games saying we need 3 pitchers to get 6 innings or so.  It becomes an extreme problem when either Cavalli or Irvin doesn't go 5 innings the day before and after.

[Slateman]

yes. It's unsustainable to go into his games saying we need 3 pitchers to get 6 innings or so.  It becomes an extreme problem when either Cavalli or Irvin doesn't go 5 innings the day before and after.

Yep. Seems simple enough. Call up Alvarez, move Mikolas to the pen, then send Tena down. We need the pitching in this stretch and can re-evaluate after. Mikolas can have mop up duty, you can use Parker for up to 2 innings in a meaningful spot, and then you can put Brad Lord in more high leverage situations.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

I don't think you can go over 13 pitchers so the swap out for Tena wouldn't work if I'm right. They do need Alvarez up, but unless there's some sort of phantom or real IL for someone, it means sending down Ribalta or Schultz. Or just  admitting that Mikolas can't do what he was signed to do (before Littell was signed to do the same thing), and just releasing him. It's not like it'll bite us in the butt in terms of a pennant chase. It's more like releasing a former major leaguer from a minor league contract at an opt out date.

[Slateman]

I don't think you can go over 13 pitchers so the swap out for Tena wouldn't work if I'm right. They do need Alvarez up, but unless there's some sort of phantom or real IL for someone, it means sending down Ribalta or Schultz. Or just  admitting that Mikolas can't do what he was signed to do (before Littell was signed to do the same thing), and just releasing him. It's not like it'll bite us in the butt in terms of a pennant chase. It's more like releasing a former major leaguer from a minor league contract at an opt out date.

Ah, youre right. That was for September.

Then either cut bait or send another pitcher down for 15 days. Which, honestly, will probably be necessary in the next week anyway

[JCA-CrystalCity]

The roster was structured to have multiple relievers with options. If it means recalling Granillo when he's eligible, or giving other arms chances, do it.

[Slateman]

The roster was structured to have multiple relievers with options. If it means recalling Granillo when he's eligible, or giving other arms chances, do it.

I think we can stay simple and just send whoever is the most worked down before Mikolas' next start on the 19th. We are, effectively, asking the bullpen to pitch 40 pitches that we expect Mikolas to provide. Either he wears it or we find someone else. At his current load, he could probably start pitching out of the pen starting on Friday and we wouldn't have to make a move until the 19th.

Its not like Mikolas is suddenly bad. Hes been struggling for 3 seasons. Its time. Maybe he gets one more contract as a reliever