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NEW YORK \u2014 At a fundamental level, Washington Nationals pitchers have struggled in the three most important aspects of their jobs. They have not struck out enough hitters, limited damage in play or prevented walks. Fixing that, at its core, is the most challenging task that lies ahead for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni.<\/p>\n
In the visitor\u2019s dugout at Citi Field on Tuesday evening, Toboni said they are already seeing those improvements in the minor leagues. At the affiliates, they have seen an uptick in the quality of stuff, the velocity and the way they\u2019re attacking hitters.<\/p>\n
And yet: Toboni said it will take time to see significant improvements from the big league staff. Possibly a good bit of time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure it\u2019s going to play out here in a month, a year, even 18 months,\u201d Toboni said. \u201cBut I am confident that, over the medium and long term, it\u2019s going to start to show up. And when it shows up, it\u2019s not going to be the end of it for us. We\u2019re just going to continue to try and improve and drive those numbers over the course of time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This winter, Toboni inherited a group that did not have a track record of doing many of those things. Their relative inability to develop more velocity and nastier breaking pitches for years is part of the reason they\u2019re so hamstrung now.<\/p>\n
As such, almost all of Toboni\u2019s offseason spending this winter \u2014 at least as it pertained to the big-league payroll \u2014 went towards the pitching staff.<\/p>\n
The results have been mixed.<\/p>\n
Foster Griffin and his 2.67 ERA has been a revelation, especially at a $5.5 million price tag. But Miles Mikolas is making $2.25 million and has an 8.49 ERA. Zack Littell, Tuesday night\u2019s starter who was scooped up in the middle of spring training, has a 7.56 ERA and has given up more homers than anyone in MLB (11).<\/p>\n
Toboni was asked about the decision to sign those three players, and his confidence in them moving forward. He said they will continue to stand by Littell, who he is confident will bounce back. He did not address how long of a leash Mikolas had.<\/p>\n
They did nail the Griffin signing \u2014 or it looks as though they have so far \u2014 which gives some hints as to how they could succeed in the open market again. Since Griffin arrived from Japan\u2019s Nippon Professional Baseball, there isn\u2019t a one-to-one comparison to traditional free agency. But this should give them an understanding moving forward of how available players can succeed when they have diverse arsenals and aggressive approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been fun to watch him pitch in the early going,\u201d Toboni said, \u201cand hopefully, he can continue it over the course of the next few months.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s for another offseason. There\u2019s still a big league season at play, one where the offense has shown up and the pitching has wavered.<\/p>\n
In the short term, then, what is he using as a barometer for success on the mound?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re attacking hitters at a decent rate, (but) I think where we were really struggling was putting hitters away,\u201d Toboni said. \u201cJust because that was a fact, doesn\u2019t mean that we can\u2019t attack hitters at an even higher rate. \u2026 I think the next step is, hopefully, to put hitters away at a higher clip, and our hope is that that happens over time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n