If you watched any Nationals baseball in 2026, you would know that the bullpen was not good. The unit actually set records for their ineptitude, with the 2026 Nats blowing more saves than any team in history. That does not mean there were not any bright spots in the 'pen.
I am going to take a look at Erik Tolman and Jack Sinclair, two unheralded arms who were impressive down the stretch. By the end of the season, those two were Blake Butera's most trusted arms. That tells you a lot about the state of the bullpen, but it is also a credit to Sinclair and Tolman.
Entering 2026, both of these guys were little more than organizational depth. Sinclair posted a 5.95 ERA in AAA as a 26 year old. Tolman spent the first half of 2025 bullying A ball hitters as a 26 year old, before posting a 5.97 ERA in 28.2 Double-A innings. Somehow, these two were the Nats high leverage arms at the end of the season.
Both Sinclair and Tolman took massive leaps in the Nats new player development infrastructure. They each added over 3 MPH of fastball velocity between 2025 and 2026. That new found heat made them relevant arms in the Nats organization.
Even with the extra velocity, neither of them put up great numbers in AAA. Tolman posted an ERA over 5 in Rochester because of his control issues. Despite striking out more than 12 batters per 9 innings in the minors, Tolman ran into trouble because he walked 23 batters in 31 innings.
Even if the results were not great, Tolman had nasty stuff, so the Nats decided to give him a shot. It did not take long to see that the Nats had something with Tolman. After running through so many soft tossing lefties, it was refreshing to see a southpaw that averaged 97 MPH on his fastball. Tolman also showed off his nasty changeup and solid slider.
The most impressive part about Tolman was his moxie. He did not panic in big moments, which gave him Blake Butera's trust. I remember when he was brought in with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 8th against the Marlins. Tolman immediately got a strikeout and a double play to end that inning. He came back out for the 9th, and continued to mow down Marlins hitters to get his first save.
That was the moment that sold me on Tolman. Part of the reason Tolman never panics is because of what he has been through. He was almost forced to retire due to two Tommy John's and a devastating knee injury which also caused nerve damage. When Tolman is on the mound, he has to wear an ankle brace for stability. I wrote a story about this and went into real detail.
For the season, Tolman had a 2.93 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings. Despite throwing the ball in the zone at an above average clip , Tolman still struggled with walks in the big leagues. He walked 13.4% of hitters, and free passes will always be an issue for him. With that in mind, I do not think Tolman is a closer or even a set up man, but he has good enough stuff to be an effective lefty out of the bullpen.
The other reliever that emerged down the stretch was Jack Sinclair. Like Tolman, Sinclair was solid but not spectacular in the minors. In 52 AAA outings, Sinclair posted an ERA of 4.03. Sinclair's 28% strikeout rate was impressive, but he also walked over 12% of hitters in Rochester.
Despite his up and down season, the Nats gave Sinclair a shot due to his big time stuff and the lack of options. Sinclair made the most of his opportunities, posting a 2.45 ERA in 11 outings. He mainly used a fastball-sweeper combination to keep hitters off balance.
Sinclair threw the sweeper 43% of the time, and it is easy to see why. The pitch has a ton of movement and held hitters to an .071 average against. His sweeper also generated whiffs at a 29% clip. Those whiffs are crucial because none of his other pitches had a whiff rate above 12.5%.
Right now, Sinclair throws his 4-seamer more than his sinker. However, I think the sinker is better. It compliments his sweeper quite well, with the sweeper breaking away from hitters and the sinker running into them. That is a formula that has proven to work.
Despite the strong surface level numbers, I still want to see more from Sinclair. He only struck out 17.4% of hitters and did not generate many whiffs. His walk rate was a solid 8.7%, but I think there are red flags here as well. Sinclair is in the zone less often than Tolman and gets less chase as well. He also had walk issues in the minors too.
With his mid to upper 90's fastball and a nasty sweeper, I think Sinclair can be a big league arm. However, I have my doubts about him being a real difference maker. He has good stuff, but it is not standout stuff. There are a lot of relievers with 95-98 MPH fastballs and good sweepers to go with them. However, Sinclair is still more promising than most of the arms the Nats threw out.
I do not think Sinclair or Tolman are lock down arms, which is why I still think the Nats need to find a closer. However, they looked like big leaguers, which is very impressive. Before the season, these two were afterthoughts, but now they both have an inside track towards a roster spot in 2027.
