SAN DIEGO — The plan has always been for Josiah Gray’s innings to jump exponentially as he pitched his first full season in the Nationals’ starting rotation. With that comes monitoring a young arm to ensure “more” doesn’t become “too much.”
“We’re looking at kind of the wear and tear, how he reacts in-game, a lot of mechanics — is he using his lower half … is he flying open?” manager Dave Martinez said before the Nats’ 2-1 loss to the Padres on Saturday night at Petco Park. “We’ll keep an eye on a lot of stuff.”
As a rookie, Gray totaled 70 2/3 Major League innings after making his debut on July 20, 2021, with the Dodgers. He pitched 15 2/3 frames in Triple-A before reaching the bigs and then being dealt in a megatrade that highlighted him as a key member of the Nats’ pitching future.
Gray was tabbed as the Nationals’ No. 2 starters for the 2022 season. The 24-year-old got ready for the increased workload with a disciplined offseason training program at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida.
“I took care of that business off the field, and that definitely prepared me for stuff on the field,” Gray said. “Even now in-season, I am maintaining my routine with the strength staff, with the training staff as well, being prepared for every fifth day and making sure the body feels good.”
Gray entered Saturday ranked fourth in innings thrown by a second-year starter, trailing Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays (142 2/3), Shane McClanahan of the Rays (141 1/3) and Logan Gilbert of the Mariners (138 1/ 3). Each of those three pitchers threw at least 110 innings last season.
By the end of the night Saturday, Gray’s innings count stood at 123 1/3 — an increase of nearly 40 total frames from last season. He allowed four hits, one run (a home run to former teammate Josh Bell) and five walks against the Padres. Gray also recorded three strikeouts across 102 pitches. Martinez noted pitch efficiency and location miscues in the outing.
“He was pulling a lot; his mechanics were off a little bit,” said Martinez. “He fell behind a lot, but he made pitches when he needed to.”
The Nationals have considered the possibility of skipping a Gray start to address the bump in workload. They will reassess their starting rotation as a whole when Erick Fedde (right shoulder inflammation) is cleared to return from the injured list, which could be as soon as the next series in Seattle. The Nats also have three scheduled off-days in the next two weeks, including Monday, to provide flexibility.
“We’re going to look at a bunch of different things coming up,” Martinez said. “We’ll sit down after this weekend… [and] map out what we’re going to do next.”
In the meantime, the competitive Gray will study the Nationals’ defeat against the Padres on Saturday and prepare for his next appearance.
“I feel like I’m bouncing back from every outing pretty well,” said Gray. “I feel energized with every outing. I don’t feel like the length of the season is getting to me. I’m excited to finish this thing out as strong as I can.”
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