WRNL Adopt a Team: Washington Nationals

Congratulations on making it to the end of the week! I'm here to present to you the fifth and final team up for selection in the WRNL Adopt a Team series. Later today, we'll post a poll that will allow you, our minions readers, to select the team you'd like WRNL to cover until football season! To quickly recap the teams pitched this week: Monday was KnowDan with the Houston Astros, Tuesday was Cyclone Scholar with the Seattle Mariners, Wednesday was FiftyShadesofGray with the New York Yankees, and Thursday was austinnarber with the Boston Red Sox.

Without further to do, it's time to get to our last (and clearly the best) candidate...

The Team: Washington Nationals

Also known as the "Nats", the Nationals are projected to be one of, if not THE best team in baseball this year. Formerly known as the Montreal Expos before they were relocated to Washington D.C. before the 2005 season, the Nationals/Expos are one of two teams in the league (the other being the Mariners) that have never played in a World Series. The team is led by a fantastic pitching staff and some young sluggers including Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond and Anthony Rendon.

Washington has made it to the playoffs a few times recently, but hasn't made it past the NLDS due to a variety of issues in the postseason. Will this finally be "the year" for the Nationals?

Legitimate Coverage

CBS Sports, Washington Nationals likes/dislikes: To sum it up, the Nats have some young talent and a brilliant pitching rotation that makes them a contender this year. Two of the three "dislikes" sound very familiar to ISU football fans - bad luck with injuries and a feeling of dread come playoff time.

Sports Illustrated, Nationals are No. 1 for 2015: Again, the starting pitchers are the best in baseball on paper, but the bullpen is a big question. Closer Drew Storen is SI's "Most Overrated" player on the team.

Bleacher Report, Complete Washington Nationals 2015 Season Preview: I clicked through the slideshow so you don't have to! Main point: Can Casey Janssen fill the hole that setup man Tyler Clippard left in the eighth inning after Clippard was traded to the Oakland Athletics? Also, the Nats have another mega-star pitching prospect coming up through the ranks in Lucas Giolito, who may earn a call up by September.

Federal Baseball, Not saying #WSOB, but...: Our mothership SB Nation's Nationals site Federal Baseball goes in-depth on the outlook for this season, and is very cautiously starting up the #HYPETRAIN.

Why the Nationals

I hear you guys like gifs... Ya'll have good taste. Feast your eyes on the best starting rotation in baseball:

Max Scherzer

Stephen Strasburg

Jordan Zimmermann

Doug Fister

Gio Gonzalez

Why Not the Nationals

It's not uncharacteristic for the Nats to go "full Cyclone" in crunch time. This is, once again, best portrayed in gif form:

Also, as Iowa State fans, we aren't used to rooting for the favorite very often. Rooting for the Nats this year would be very "bandwagon" of us. Although, it might be best to take all the winning we can get before football season...

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There you have it, WRNL'ers. It's now up to you to decide which team this site's merry band of hack bloggers will be devoting their valuable time and energy into covering during the offseason. Look for us to release the poll soon, and choose wisely!