After over a month on the shelf, Michael Soroka is back in the Nationals rotation
Michael Soroka is back after missing about a month with an arm injury. When he left the game against the Jays, many feared for the worst, but it was only biceps soreness. If Soroka is on his game, he can be a valuable piece to this rotation.
Dave Martinez said Michael Soroka will start tomorrow. The plan is to move Brad Lord back to the bullpen.
Corresponding move will be announced tomorrow.
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) May 7, 2025
The Michael Soroka story is the same as it was. He was an All-Star right hander at just 21 for the Braves back in 2019. However, two Achilles tears derailed his progress. After showing a lot of flashes in the White Sox bullpen, the Nats picked him up on a one-year $9 million deal to start for them.
Early in Spring Training, Soroka stole the show, looking like a weapon for the Nats. His stuff was crisp and he looked like a breakout candidate. However, he struggled with command later in spring and then got hurt in his first start.
In his last rehab start in Triple-A, Soroka looked like that guy from early spring. He struck out 11 batters in a dominant effort. In Chicago, Soroka reinvented himself a bit. As a Brave, he was a sinker/slider guy who relied heavily on ground balls. However, in Chicago, he relied more on a four-seamer. In that bullpen role, he struck out 60 batters in 36 innings.
Both the Nats and Soroka believed that success could carry over into a starting role. One thing to look for with Soroka is that velocity. Early in Spring, he was sitting around 95 MPH, which was a big jump from the 93 MPH he sat at last year.
In his only start this year, he averaged 94.1 MPH, which is still up from last year. Soroka’s issue that day was command. His control was fine, only walking one batter, but he was throwing too many pitches over the heart of the plate.
If Soroka can become a reliable starter, it would be a great story and a big plus for the Nationals. He has been through so much in his career, and it was really good to see that injury he suffered was not as serious as it looked.
Michael Soroka’s best pitch is his slider. It has been for most of his career. The pitch plays almost like a curveball with all the break it gets. Last year, the pitch had a 41.7% whiff rate. His fastball and slider interact very well off of each other and that is the bread and butter of his game.
It will be interesting to see how deep in the game Soroka goes. With the double header yesterday, the Nats could use some length, but this is his first start back. Soroka threw 94 pitches in his last rehab start, so he is pretty built up pitch count wise.
Anyways, it is just cool to see him back on the mound. Soroka is such an easy guy to root for and I am pushing super hard for him. It would be great for Soroka and the Nats if he can re-establish himself as a big league starter. The first step in that journey will come this afternoon.