Austin Voth

Mainly due to injuries, the National have utilized Voth in the rotation when the truth is, it is a tough fit. Voth slings a handful of pitches to the plate with his curveball being the best offering of the bunch. Voth's best path to success is playing the contact-suppression game, mixing up his pitches and location to keep hitters off balance. It worked for a time in 2019 when the league hit below .200 off his fastball, which sits 90-93. When he struggles with command, it can quickly fall apart as it did last year when the league hit .330 off that same fastball. He added both a cutter and a splitter last season, but the cutter was just as hittable as the fastball while the splitter replaced the straight-change in his repertoire with slightly more success. Voth is likely the long man in the Washington bullpen for 2021 until someone breaks down.

After battling a shoulder injury in July and August, Voth came on strong for the Nationals down the stretch, posting a 2.61 ERA and 0.92 WHIP in four September starts. His success was a pleasant surprise as Voth had dampened flashes of potential with bouts of inconsistency throughout his minor-league career. The right-hander is equipped with a four-pitch arsenal that includes a fastball that clocks in at 91-93 mph and a curveball that rates as above-average. He has demonstrated solid command throughout most of his professional career and carried that over to the big-leagues last season, finishing with a 7.5 BB%. Voth isn't likely to challenge for a strikeout crown, but he posted a healthy 25.3 K% last season and is certainly capable of averaging a strikeout per inning. Though his role next season is unclear, a strong spring training could help Voth emerge as Washington's fifth starter in 2020.

After putting himself on the prospect radar in 2014, Voth solidified his status with a strong 2015 campaign at Double-A. Like Tanner Roark, Voth doesn't have the kind of stuff that makes scouts salivate, but he has good command of a fastball that can occasionally touch the mid-90s along with a plus curveball and developing change. His velocity can waver, though, putting him potentially on a path to the bullpen in the majors rather than the back of the rotation, especially given the competition rising through the Nationals system alongside him. Voth will begin the season at Triple-A and he's not yet on the 40-man roster, so he's a little less likely to get a crack at the majors in 2016 than you might expect, but injuries or underperformance could give him his first shot at the big leagues in the second half.

Drafted in the fifth round in 2013, Voth made a lot of scouts sit up and take notice with some truly outstanding numbers at Low-A and High-A last year, posting a combined 2.10 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 114:29 K:BB ratio in 107.1 innings between the two levels. The 22-year-old right-hander stumbled at Double-A, and he doesn't have an outstanding fastball, typically sitting in the low 90s while occasionally touching 96, but he already shows strong command and control and his power curve and changeup are both potentially plus pitches down the road. If he can build up his frame and generate more consistent velocity, he could solidify a spot as a potential future member of the Nationals' rotation just behind Lucas Giolito and A.J. Cole, but even if he doesn't, Tanner Roark is currently showing what can be done with an arsenal and skill set similar to Voth's. He's not a high-ceiling prospect, but he is an intriguing one.