A Few Good Men: 18 - Marquis

Jason Marquis – Age 33 – MLB Service time 11 Years

How He Became a Nat: Signed a 2-year 15 Million Dollar contract in December of 2009.

The Raw Numbers (as a Nat in 2011):

ERA – 3.95

Innings Pitched – 120.2

H/9 – 9.8

WPA – 0.3

WAR - 1.6

The Key Stat: QS% 65. For every 3 times he was given the ball, he gave the Nats a chance to win (Oh by the way, the Nats’ winning percentage in his starts, .650. Maybe there is something to this QS%). Along with Livo, he was a model to the future 3 or 4 guys in the rotation, John Lannan especially, systematically keeping the Nats in games despite not overpowering any lineup or team.

Best Game: April 29^th against the Giants. Complete game 5 hit shut-out. Seven strikeouts, no walks, with only 96 pitches. This was the game Nats fans thought, he’s back. 16 ground balls against 7 fly balls and only 1 line drive adds up to Jason Marquis perceived identity.

Worst Game: July 3^rd vs. the Pirates. Jason lasted only 1 1/3 innings, giving up 8 hits and 7 runs (6 earned, because that 7^th run in 4 outs was the key to a quality start). This happens to sinkerballers once in a while (who tend to get better as they tire), because the ball will be in play, luck is involved. However, on this day, luck was not on his side... 6 singles, 2 doubles and a ROE, only one of which went much higher than 20 ft. Pitching to contact is a good idea, it's democratic, but it also lends itself to luck, and on this day, it was not with Jason Marquis.

CapBall Grade: Very Solid B+. He kept the Nats in games, he mentored younger players, and eventually brought current AFL prospect Zach Walters into the organization via mid-season trade with Arizona (He suffered a broken leg not long after.) He was not a star, but he made very valuable contributions in every facet of the game, on the field and off.

2012 Nats Status: Jason is a free-agent. He spoke in June about wanting to remain with the Nats, but that was pre-trade and pre-broken leg. The Nats are looking for a game-changing top-of-the-rotation arm, Jason doesn’t fit that bill. Jason Marquis will start for a major-league team in 2012, but it won’t be the Nationals.