Bacardi Untameable - Tanner Roark's quiet dominance

Survey the crowd on a summer day at Nationals Park and it's impossible not to notice the deluge of team apparel with the name "Harper" or "Strasburg" emblazoned on the back.

Tanner Roark doesn't inspire the kind of celebrity befitting a first-overall selection, like his two most popular teammates, but the 27-year-old has improbably emerged as one of the National League's most effective starters over the last year. Without fanfare, Roark has made himself an indispensable member of Washington's pitching staff, emphatically distinguishing himself from the pitcher whose very presence in professional baseball seemed tenuous a few years ago.

Roark, an Illinois native, went undrafted out of high school despite leading his Wilmington Wildcats to state baseball titles in both 2003 and 2005. An ill-fated stint at the University of Illinois followed, as the young right-hander did little to endear himself in his freshman year - Roark managed a 4.99 ERA with only 24 strikeouts in 52 1/3 innings - and was cut from the team after floundering in his sophomore season.

Dejected, Roark went six months without pitching before catching on with the Southern Illinois Miners of the independent Frontier League, but his misfortune continued, far removed from the pressures of Division-1 competition. Roark made only three appearances for the Miners, finishing with a 21.41 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 miserable innings.

Despite Roark's disastrous foray into independent ball, the Texas Rangers selected the 6-foot-2 hurler in the 25th round of the 2008 draft. He traversed the lower levels of the minor leagues rather inconspicuously, his stuff too pedestrian to generate much excitement, though he proved adept at limiting walks and suppressing home runs.

Texas eventually shipped Roark to Washington in 2010 for shortstop Cristian Guzman, when the Nationals were still navigating their infancy and eager to bolster their minor-league system. Roark finished the season with aplomb - he managed a 2.50 ERA across six Double-A starts - but opened the following season at the same level, a discouraging development for the 24-year-old.

Roark staggered through his 2011 season at Double-A, ending the year with a 4.69 ERA in 21 starts while allowing more than a hit per inning. Despite his shaky performance, Roark managed to make it Triple-A in 2012, but did nothing to warrant a big-league cameo, and was promptly sent back to the International League to open 2013.

Improved command helped Roark find success in Triple-A, and the 26-year-old was eventually summoned to the majors in August to relieve a pitching staff ravaged by injury. Functioning initially as a reliever, Roark dazzled early on in his big-league career, perhaps due to an epiphany that struck him while standing on the mound at Nationals Park, according to FanGraphs' Eno Sarris:

"I just scratched the four-seamer and starting throwing all two-seamers, and it's been a blessing. It's worked for me, worked really well, and I’m trying to use it as much as I can, because my fastball has been always my best pitch."

Roark immediately reaped the rewards of his new pitch, crafting a 1.74 ERA while allowing just one home run in 31 innings after being moved to the rotation for the final month of the season. Aided by his superb command, Roark authored a sparkling 5.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his five-start sample and, more importantly, earned himself a spot in Washington's rotation in 2014.

Surrounded by pitchers of considerable repute, Roark has proved he truly belongs this season, managing a 136 ERA+ in 21 starts for a club destined for the postseason. (Roark's adjusted ERA, incidentally, trumps David Price, Max Scherzer, and even Stephen Strasburg's.) Only 13 National League pitchers have issued walks with less frequency this season than Roark, who has surrendered two earned runs or fewer in 15 of his 21 starts while yielding only nine home runs in 134 2/3 innings. 

Roark is one of the main forces behind the 3.23 ERA crafted by Washington's rotation this season - the second-best mark in the majors - effectively creating a dilemma for manager Matt Williams when October arrives; just a few years after toiling (miserably, at that) in the Frontier League, Roark might be a more attractive option for a playoff start than Strasburg.

So what if people don't wear his jersey?