Herz is up with Trevor Williams (elbow) placed on the 15-day injured list, and he’s expected to make his MLB debut with a start against the Mets on Tuesday. The 23-year-old has thrown 36 innings at the Triple-A level in 2024 with a 3.75 ERA and 42/29 K/BB over his nine starts. Herz has swing-and-miss stuff, but his mediocre — at best — control makes him a risky streaming option going forward.

With Adon has been in the Nationals’ rotation before, it’s Herz and Henry that are the two big names here. Herz came over from the Cubs in the Jeimer Candelario trade and was tremendous for the Nationals in Double-A and then also in the AFL. Meanwhile, Henry is a former first-round pick who is coming off of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery. Both have looked good this spring and have a chance to crack the Nationals’ rotation over the summer.

Herz, an eighth-round selection from the 2019 MLB Draft, will be shielded from selection in next month’s Rule 5 Draft. The 22-year-old southpaw was limited to just eight starts this past season for Double-A Harrisburg, but put together a strong five-start showing recently in the Arizona Fall League.

Herz generated 12 whiffs and a 39 percent CSW on the day and has looked great in AFL action. After coming to Washington in the Jeimer Candelario trade, Herz cut his ERA from 4.73 to 2.80 and his walk rate from 15 percent to 13.6 percent. He’s positioning himself to be a contender for a Nationals rotation spot.