A lot has been made of the Nationals' improvements in hitting. Guys like Mead and Ruiz were, effectively, raised from the dead. Could make the same argument for Garcia as well. Guys like Abrams and Wood are far more talented, and we're seeing this new hitting approach get the most out of them, not only in terms of performance, but also limiting the cold streaks.
We've seen these improvements throughout the farm system, with guys like King, Morales, Cruz, and others making big improvements to their swing and adding power. Coaching and technology have merged together and we are seeing the results throughout the entire organization.
But there hasn't been any improvement to the pitching. Can anyone think of a pitcher who has gotten better, either at the MLB level or in the system? I suppose you could make an argument for Cavalli, though I would also argue that a lot of his improvement started by being healthy last year and pitching (his September ERA was 3.38, with a huge drop in homers).
Is there someone else? If not, why not? I assume that Toboni and Ari are just as willing to embrace coaching, analytics, and technology in pitching as they are in hitting. I feel like we should see some sort of progress by now.
