The Nationals already-stacked pitching staff will be getting a reinforcement soon. It'll come in the form of closer Drew Storen.

Storen is on the comeback trail from surgery that removed bone chips from his throwing elbow. Friday, he threw 20 fastballs to live hitters during Nationals' batting practice. It sounds like it went well, as he reported no issues.

“It was just kind of like, nice, easy,” Storen said (washingtonpost.com). “Velocity’s not going to be there but I was just worried about locating.”

The plan seems to be the same as it has been for quite a while, which is to have Storen return sometimes around the All-Star break.

Storen, 24, saved 43 games in 48 chances last season with a 2.75 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 74 strikeouts in 75 1/3 innings. He appeared to be blossoming into one of the better closers in the majors.

When Storen does come back, he'll make a dangerous pitching staff even better. The Nats have one of the best pitching rotations in the majors and the bullpen (entering Friday's action) sports a 2.95 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

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