Washington Nationals rookie LHP DJ Herz continues his impressive run as a starter racking up 10 strikeouts against the New York Mets with 0 BB's. How has he cut down his walk rate thus far? Josiah Gray has suffered a setback from his rehab assignment in AAA and has been shut down yet again. Ryan discusses this unfortunate news, and what could be next for the 2023 All-Star. We preview game 3 of the Nats-Mets series with Mitchell Parker on the bump.
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It's the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. As an answer lost another tough game last night, you got to start thinking about this. What is going on with the bullpen and more importantly what is going on with Hunter Harvey? And thank you all for making lockdown nationals your first list in every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and of course you can catch us over on Twitter at Ryan Clary 11 and as well as our show page at low underscore nationals for our latest nationals news notes make sure to check us out over on Twitter and of course while you're at it make sure to search locked on nationals wherever you get your podcast including over on YouTube again just search locked on nationals there and that is where you'll find your daily coverage of the Washington National. So of course later on in today's show it says a game to preview if you're over on YouTube but of course it is a game three preview as it is Wednesday third day of the series and of course it is the third game for James Wood the nationals and really one of the best prospects in all of baseball at this point will James Wood hit a home run tonight we'll have that discussion and the later on of today's show but second segment there is some bad news on Josiah Gray if you haven't heard Josiah Gray it's not good right now we'll have that discussion in the second segment and what could be next for the nationals all star from back in 2023 we'll have that for you a little bit later on in today's show but we start off with discussing DJ hers and last night's performance there is good and there's bad the good is DJ hers and he continues to be impressive so far in 2024 really what is rookie campaign is but still the nationals they have a problem his name is Hunter Harvey. Today's episode is brought to you by prize picks the easiest most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to prize picks dot com slash locked on MLB and use code all lower case locked on MLB for a first deposit match up to a hundred dollars and now we get back into it as the nationals yesterday and again and back to back nights against this New York Mets team they lost an extra innings you go into the 10th inning your vibes are pretty high you have James Wood making his debut on Monday night in game one of this series so of course everyone's kind of wishful thinking and really it seemed like the dream scenario where James Wood maybe could come up and in a walkoff or whatever it is that's at least was running through your mind at some point over these last two nights but what has happened is that Hunter Harvey has come in both these games and has simply just crap the bed that's the nicest way to put it and this has been a pretty big surprise in my opinion because again Hunter Harvey and we will talk about DJ hers because in my opinion he's been very impressive so far through his rookie campaign here but over his last three and a third innings pitch for Hunter Harvey he has now allowed eight earned runs ten runs in total by the way seven hits and two home runs yesterday he had the blown save and then two games ago on Monday night he had the loss and extra innings where he just completely blew up in which you don't really expect that but here's the thing with Hunter Harvey and this is kind of what we got talking about in last week's walked on nationals a lot of the time Hunter Harvey should only pitch in the eighth inning like you think I'm being a little bit cynical maybe you may think I'm kind of joking kind of taking this out of context but if you look at what Hunter Harvey and really kind of what he has done so far this season Hunter Harvey has been best in that set up man role now again in yesterday's game yeah it's I understand why Davey Martinez does put him out for the later on in the portions of the game and then of course in Monday night in the 10th inning Hunter Harvey is your second best bullpen guy at this point at least that's what we thought Dylan Floro in my opinion probably is your second best bullpen that's the guy other than that it's Kyle Finnegan as our closer in which you know he's been great and you know you can rely on him getting the save and doing his job that's what he's done all season long and that's what he's done since dating back to last year but now with Hunter Harvey someone who else that you could rely on he hasn't really done too much here recently and by the way can this come at a worse time form think about it this way Hunter Harvey is going to be a hot name in this year's trade market he is he's going to be up there with Kyle Finnegan in trade discussions as he should be by the way he's 29 years old he's on our team control for another year or two and Hunter Harvey has been good but now you see the inflated ERA what's back up in the force he has not been that bad this year and I think teams will probably look past that but still it would be nice to have him sell him at a 3-2 ERA it'd be nice to be a sub 3 ERA right around where Kyle Finnegan is around a 2 ERA or Dylan Floro in that ballpark but now Hunter Harvey is going out there and just completely getting shelled and at this point in time you have to kind of wonder to yourself how long is this going to last how long is Davey Martinez going to continue to throw him out there in not a inning scenarios because again with Hunter Harvey he's good you know you can rely on him but in this situation that we're in right now he has now had three pretty bad outings here recently Hunter Harvey has not been himself whatsoever and Davey Martinez still goes knocking on that door expecting a different response and it just hasn't been that way so I look at it this way we all know that Davey Martinez the one real big knock on him in my opinion there are a lot of knocks you can say I think Davey Martinez is a lot better manager though than what people give him credit for I will say that right then and then but his one knock that you just simply cannot look past is the way that he has handled the bullpen because they do have talent here and I think we have seen a lot of different situations this year where the bullpen has played a lot better than a really pitched a lot better than probably what they should have and again you're missing some pieces right now like in the last few games you've seen Robert Garcia he's also not doing well Jordan Williams who started the season well has completely fallen off you cannot rely on him in any situation Tanner Rainey at this point is taken up one of the bullpen spots you can't rely on him in any close game whatsoever he comes in when you're down seven runs to come clean up and mop the floor that's his job so it has been a frustrating a very frustrating few few days here as a nationals fan seeing the bullpen come in having good starts from Mackenzie Gore then last night with DJ hers and then ultimately it just completely falls off from there but it's not just the bullpen the offense as well has been pretty damn future over these last few games and it always happens against the Mets it just always does if you are playing the New York Mets at nationals park the nationals they're going to lose that's just the way that it is and that is unfortunate because again they do have some nice pieces here my opinion the nationals they're pretty damn good they have been playing up subpar of that expectation so far in 2024 but ultimately it has not been all that great and now you're starting to see a kind of stockpile a little bit here in the month of July and ultimately again this bullpen it blows right now you know it doesn't blow DJ hers let's talk about him real quick last night's game five and two third innings pitch five hits which was a solo home run by the way is one earned run in yesterday's game 10 strikeouts and zero walks here's what I look at with DJ hers number one I've always said this if you're striking out guys that tells me a lot about the stuff that you have again DJ hers immediately entered this rotation he's got the best change up in my opinion in this rotation and it's not even close he was a 70 grade change up one of the better ones down in the minor leagues and that's what he was touted for if you remember back the last year DJ hers completely turned the corner of his season when he was traded from the Cubs to the nationals and then this year in triple a he really wasn't all that good I had the numbers right here DJ hers in something that has always haunted him is his walks if you look at his walks this year in triple a compared to what it was in the majors right now he had seven walks per nine in triple a now jumping to the majors he's only got three walks per nine innings that is a huge that you are cutting your walk rate by more than half at this point with DJ hers is done you can all just point to Sean do a little I'll do that I think that's an easy answer and honestly I think that probably is the answer what DJ hers has done though has really solidified himself as a pretty premier arm in this rotation in my opinion he is now up there with Mitchell Parker someone who also from triple a going up into the majors his walk rate is completely different now Mitchell Parker has kind of he's still really good but he's kind of landed back on earth at this point but if you look even beyond the numbers though Mitchell Parker and DJ hers is left handed pictures someone guys were walking a ton of batters over the last few seasons they have completely flipped the script on them once they have entered the major leagues you're starting to see them kind of take those next steps in which in years past with this organization you have not seen those steps like Jackson Rutledge for example a 2019 first round pick he has not taken those steps but you see it with Mitchell Parker you see it with DJ hers and it's so weird if you consider it this way but the way that they were pitching down in triple a compared to what they are doing up in the majors they are so much better up in the bigs you may be asking what's the difference the difference might just be right in front of us his name is Sean Doolittle Sean Doolittle I've seen everybody talk about it every single time one of these young arms take the mound where all just like pay Sean Doolittle whatever you want at this point in time I have to agree at some point though maybe you can do the same with the bullpen with Hunter Harvey I don't know at this point because again the bullpen has been a complete disaster but DJ hers and Mitchell Parker who starts tonight's game they have been money up to this point and you cannot ignore that fact of it so thank you all for making lockdown nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and of course check us out over on YouTube just search lockdown nationals there and then that is where you'll find your daily content of the washington nationals but next let me tell you guys about Josiah Gray because he has got some bad news what could be coming up next but it's David Martinez said about it and really just kind of open up the can of worms here we all know what could be coming unfortunately not saying nobody knows that at this point is way too early but still if you watch and follow baseball the way that we all do here on lockdown nationals you probably know it's not good we'll add that discussion for you but let me tell you guys about our friends over at booking.com and of course this episode of lockdown nationals is brought to you by booking.com booking.com yeah with travel summer heating up especially travel for baseball games it's time to explore those US cities you always secretly wanted to learn more about yes we're talking about your rivals cities with hotels bed and breakfast vacation rentals resorts it's so much more of booking.com you might just find your perfect stay even in your baseball rivals city and of course maybe you're a nats fan trying to head up the Chicago to see Wrigley Field for the first time this August you can look over at our friends at booking.com and find the best deals from hotels that look over stadiums to a family friendly resort booking.com has so many choices across the US for your summer travel this majorly baseball season of course it is beyond all of that because you have our friends at booking.com so the right stay can make you a fan of any US city even your rivals so book today on booking.com on the site or in the booking.com app again the right stay can make you a fan of any city even your rivals so book today on booking.com on the site or in the booking.com app now let me tell you guys about our very good friends over at game time and guys we talked about game time but you may be asking what is game time well game time is an authorized ticket marketplace of majorly baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to the first pitch with killer last minute deals all in prices views from your seats and their lowest price guaranteed game time take the guesswork at a buying major league baseball tickets this is what I do what I'm walking up to nationals park I pick the game of course like a tonight's game you're walking on pastry open up game time and this is what you do you get to have two clicks you have tickets in your hand walking in the seat and of course you will be right there in front of the action on some of my favorite views of nationals park I get to see that on the app with game time because they have views from your seats and of course they have their lowest price guaranteed event cancellation protection and as well job loss protection as well so take the guesswork at a buying major league baseball tickets with game time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on MLB for 20 dollars off your first purchase term supply again create an account or a deemed code lock ed on MLB for 20 dollars off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed later on in today's show we'll have a preview of Mitchell Parker tonight against one of the rookies for the New York Met who has been really good so far this season we'll have that preview for you a little bit later on as it is a little bit of a rookie duel in tonight's ball game but looking ahead jesai gray this is not good it simply is not good if you missed it in yesterday's game before the game David Martinez discussed jesai gray he was asked about jesai gray in the setback of his rehab process David Martinez basically is concerned so here's what happened jesai gray over the weekend was pitching in Rochester and even then if you kind of read the tea leaves a little bit the nationals have been rehabbing jesai gray for quite some time a little bit longer than a lot of people anticipated now you could kind of say they've been just kind of waiting for something to shake up the rotation and have something open up but even then jesai gray is one of your premier arms this is someone who's only had two starts all season so the way that they were kind of rehabbing him was a little bit interesting in my opinion I think that kind of goes to show you that they may have known that something is not right and even then jesai gray in yesterday's game before the ball game was talking and meeting with the media he said that he felt elbow to his comfort similar to what he felt in April and during Sunday's rehab start in Rochester he'll be getting an MRI they'll plan his next step once he knows results this is not good again this is not good now this is going to be a pretty not so good situation i don't think anybody should be yelling tommy john at this point in time i think it's way too early you simply do not know but dave martinez did say that he is pretty concerned at this point in time dave martinez was pretty concerned back in april when he first got shut down and when you first saw these issues but if you watch baseball which you do you kind of know that something is a little bit different here the fact that they are waiting a few weeks to get an MRI that kind of goes to show you that they want to see if it can if whatever this injury is can kind of heal on its own get the swelling down and then go in there and see what's going on with it because we have seen this time and time again this is an issue across major league baseball elbow issues and tricep issues arm issues in general shoulder ish whatever it is they are way up in baseball is it because the way that guys throw v low now is the way that they stretch we don't really know there's no real science behind it at this point in time that can really kind of determine what the issue is but the main thing about this is that you're all star from last year who a lot of people were expecting a big step up including myself this year to be a middle rotation guy who was going to be a kind of a leader in the clubhouse which he still is by the way but this is just a pretty devastating blow to a good young rotation at this point having just saw a gray around forget the pitching every five days part this is a leader in the clubhouse this is someone that you want young pitchers like DJ hers and Mitchell Parker learning from and again a middle rotation guy who's going to help you down the line who's going to be a big part of this rotation moving forward he was your opening day starter this is what it's like and again to think that his velocity was down he was getting rocked a triple A in his last start all those things kind of point to not good situations right now now again i don't know what to expect with this because again this is all we know but at this moment in time it just does not seem like a good sign that you're working back from this injury and then again you now have that discomfort again and unfortunately he's getting shut down and it seems to be the same issue which it is this is a very disappointing development for Josiah Gray it's a disappointing development for the nationals and you just feel for the guy because again his leadership is way more than really what he has done on the field at this point the nationals are going to be missing that part of Josiah and even then looking kind of deeper into it what he does off the field the youth baseball academy being the ambassador for the youth baseball academy in d.c. Josiah Gray means a lot to this community he means a lot to this rotation being an all-star guy on and off the field it is a big hurt for this nationals team and right now it just does not seem to look all too good because again he hasn't pitched since early on in April if it's the same injury again you're looking at a lost season at this point it sucks for Josiah it sucks for the nationals it sucks for everybody around it it sucks for the fans also it's not good hopefully everything comes back and it's clear and you can start rehabbing again and start throwing and workers way back up into the major leagues but if it's anything even just from this last injury that he's been getting back from I mean that's three months that we're looking at it's July so this could be a major blow for Josiah Gray unfortunately which is just awful to think about so thank you all for making lockdown nationals your first us and every single days we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts and of course check us out over on youtube just search locked on nationals that is where you'll find your daily coverage of the washington nationals next let's preview game three of the series then Mets just I hate the Mets just please do something how about that but we'll have that for you but I said a lot of butts right now let me tell you guys about our friends over at prize picks and guys we talk about prize picks you know what the drill is prize picks is America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over five million active members prize picks is also the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports unlike other apps on prize picks it's just you against the numbers all you do is pick more or less on two to six player stat projections and watch the winnings roll in and of course if you look at this you can win up to a hundred times your money on prize with little as four correct picks you can turn ten dollars into a thousand dollars and with the finals over the hoops actually does stop odd prize picks woman's basketball is still heating up with stars like Caitlin Clark and angelries looking to make names for themselves alongside greats like Breonna Stewart and of course others as well you can win up to a hundred times your cash watching them ball out and of course download the prize picks app today and use code locked on MLB for a first deposit match up to a hundred dollars again download the prize picks app today and use code locked on MLB for a first deposit match up to a hundred dollars that's code locked on MLB on prize picks for a deposit match up to a hundred dollars pick more pick less it's that easy delicious meat nutritious in the snack that packs a real protein punch wonderful pistachios this is Ryan Fickelstein the host of locked on Mets and I love the no shells wonderful pistachios so I can eat them straight out of the bag whenever I need a boost and my favorite flavor is their sea salt and vinegar but if you're a pistachio purist who loves cracking open every nut they also have great flavors like sweet chili and salt and pepper grab wonderful pistachios and elevate your snacking game today visit wonderful pistachios.com to learn more and now we get into it as we've got a little bit of a preview for you today as Christian Scott takes on Mitchell Parker and the Washington National so kind of looking into the start real quick let's talk about it. Christian Scott who by the way through his first five starts in Major League Baseball he's got 27 and 2/3 innings pitch 25 strikeouts a 108 whip on this season as well and again that's only through his first five starts this is someone who is a fifth round pick back in 2021 on the University of Florida he is a 25 year old and really right now looks the part to be a pretty solid big league pitcher which is a little bit unfortunate from nationals because again we've kind of stumbled our way into some good arms it feels like at this moment in time the Mets have done that as well so kind of looking deeper into it over his last two starts have been his best outings really he's only allowed one walk over his last two starts even just one walk per start over his last two and even then kind of looking at it he's never had more than two walks in any of his outing so far and looking at his first few starts he had six strikeouts and six and two thirds innings pitch then he had eight strikeouts in his next start against the Atlanta Braves this is a pretty good pitcher this is someone who's starting to come into his own co with this national team and the way that they have struggled so far you kind of think to yourself the nationals being a little bit of trouble here because that's kind of what I look at but even then kind of looking deeper into it you've got Mitchell Parker on the mound today now I know we always kind of joke that like what is the rub we're going to meet the road for Mitchell Parker he's been unbelievably good so far with a 3-3-2 ERA through his first 14 starts in the major leagues they won 1-2 whip on the 2024 campaign but the way that this Mets team plays against the nationals especially at nationals park gives you bad vibes right then in there off the bat you can't help but think about that going forward though maybe Mitchell Parker is just that guy maybe he just is that guy to beat the New York Mets because again it has been a tough go for it for this national team it's not because of what Mitchell Parker has done or what he hasn't done but I can tell you this Mitchell Parker has not pitched against New York Mets yet for whatever reason when they are in DC they find a way to beat the nationals but James Wood we haven't even mentioned him all show maybe hits his first home run in tonight's game I will catch you guys on the flip side if you do that bet with our friends over at fandall give it a whirl just like I will in tonight's game I'll catch you guys on the flip side have a good one go next a prime member you can listen to this lock-down podcast add free on amazon music download the amazon music app today
