Soto sits again, Rainey throws again, cabbage races again

Soto sits again, Rainey throws again, cabbage races again
Juan Soto reported to The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches this morning, feeling better after spending Wednesday at home with what was believed to be a sinus issue, and wanted to play in the Nationals' exhibition game against the Marlins. And Davey Martinez initially put Soto in his lineup. He was batting second, behind Victor Robles and ahead of Trea Turner in the latest attempt by the manager to see if that new-look trio atop the order could work. Then Martinez thought better of it. Soto was...

Lester won't make game debut until at least next week

Lester won't make game debut until at least next week
Jon Lester's Nationals debut won't come quite as soon as everyone initially hoped it might. The veteran left-hander, recovering from surgery to remove his thyroid gland, is now back in West Palm Beach, Fla., and picking up where he left off when he departed town last week for the procedure. But despite some thought at first he might pitch in a Grapefruit League game by the end of this week, the club has now decided to bring him along a bit slower. "He did some exercises yesterday, he did...

Cavalli, Rutledge overcome nerves in spring debuts

Cavalli, Rutledge overcome nerves in spring debuts
There were nerves, for sure. This was, after all, the first time Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge had pitched in a big league spring training game. Not to mention the first time either of the Nationals' top two pitching prospects had faced hitters from another organization in a year. So it perhaps wasn't surprising when Cavalli opened the bottom of the second today in Port St. Lucie, Fla., with a walk and a misplayed comebacker. Nor was it surprising when Rutledge opened the bottom of the...

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie

Lineups: Nats vs. Mets in Port St. Lucie
There are some notable names making the 45-minute trip from West Palm Beach, Fla., to Port St. Lucie today for the Nationals' exhibition game against the Mets. Ryan Zimmerman, Kyle Schwarber and Carter Kieboom are all in the lineup. So is Yan Gomes, making his spring debut behind the plate. And so is Victor Robles, whose left arm appears to be fine one day after he was hit by a pitch. (Stop us if you've heard that one before.) But the most intriguing names in today's game might well be a...

Spring training expectations set for Rutledge and Cavalli

Spring training expectations set for Rutledge and Cavalli
Reporting to the first day of spring training as rookies must feel a lot like a freshman arriving on campus for the first day of high school. But instead of being surrounded by jocks, cliques and faculty, you're stepping into a clubhouse full of world champions, a World Series MVP, a Cy Young Award winner and All-Stars. OK, so in a sense, still jocks. But for the sake of the analogy, if spring training is like high school, then rookies are freshman, veterans are upperclassmen, coaches are...

Nats invite 71 total players to big league camp

Nats invite 71 total players to big league camp
The Nationals have invited 32 players on minor league contracts to spring training, bringing their total big league camp roster to a whopping 71. The extensive list of non-roster invitees includes several well-known veterans with prior experience either with the Nationals (Gerardo Parra, Javy Guerra, Aaron Barrett, Adrián Sanchez) or other clubs (Luis Avilán, T.J. McFarland, Welington Castillo, Jordy Mercer, Hernán Pérez, Blake Swihart, Yasmany Tomás). It also includes several of...

Cavalli cracks MLBPipeline.com's top 100 prospects list

Cavalli cracks MLBPipeline.com's top 100 prospects list
Some - maybe not much, but some - was made a little over a week ago when the Nationals did not have a single prospect land in Baseball America's top 100 prospects list. They were the only major league team to not have at least one prospect ranked by the publication. But on Thursday night, another highly regarded source for baseball prospect news came out with its own top 100 rankings, and this time, the Nationals were not shut out. Right-hander Cade Cavalli found himself as the 99th overall...

Young arms need to step up if Nats want better prospect ranking

Young arms need to step up if Nats want better prospect ranking
Prospect rankings should always be taken with a grain of salt. And if there's anyone in baseball whose mouth is over-seasoned from lack of interest in prospect rankings, it's Mike Rizzo. The Nationals general manager doesn't care what any outside publication says about his farm system. He cares only about what he sees with his own eyes and what his scouts and coaches see with theirs. OK, there's your caveat to the news that comes next: The Nationals do not currently have any of baseball's...

Nats' minor league pitching depth still a position of strength

Nats' minor league pitching depth still a position of strength
The Nationals system is strong from a pitching standpoint, even with the recent trade of prospects Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean to the Pirates. The Nats' top 10 prospects were all pitchers prior to the move that acquired All-Star first baseman Josh Bell, so now it is top eight, according to MLBPipeline.com. Prospects Jackson Rutledge, Cade Cavalli and Cole Henry are the top three. All three were drafted in 2019 or 2020. No. 5 prospect Mason Denaburg was a 2018 top selection. Nats assistant general...

Cavalli and Powell show eagerness to learn during summer workouts

Cavalli and Powell show eagerness to learn during summer workouts
Here are a couple of updates on a pair of top five draft picks for the Nationals in right-handers Cade Cavalli and Holden Powell. Cavalli was the Nats' top selection in this summer's First-Year Player Draft out of Oklahoma. He is listed on the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals roster heading into 2021. Nats pitching coordinator Brad Holman said Cavalli played two positions in college until finally deciding to put focus on starting pitching. "Cade really hadn't been pitching that...

Nationals all in on developing pitching

Nationals all in on developing pitching
It is no secret that the Nationals have made a commitment to drafting and developing pitching. Cade Cavalli, their first-round pick in the 2020 First-Year Player Draft, is the most recent example of that strategy. The Nats have selected 34 pitchers in the first 10 rounds of the last five drafts, and if this year's draft was not shortened to just five rounds, that number would likely be higher. General manager Mike Rizzo built a championship team on starting pitching, and it is clear that he...

Nats prospect Cole Henry way ahead of game as 2021 approaches

Nats prospect Cole Henry way ahead of game as 2021 approaches
Here is an update on the Nationals' 2020 second-round draft selection, right-hander Cole Henry. The 6-foot-4, 211-lb., Henry was LSU's No. 1 starter in the most recent abbreviated season. He is rated as the Nats No. 4 overall prospect on MLBPipeline.com. Although the Tigers were only able to get four weekends of play in due to the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, Henry still managed to go 2-1 with a 1.89 ERA in 19 innings. He recorded 23 strikeouts with only six walks. On Feb. 28, he beat Texas...

Do Nats have the elite prospects needed in a big trade?

Do Nats have the elite prospects needed in a big trade?
Mike Rizzo has never been shy about dealing away top prospects in exchange for big-name players who could immediately help his Nationals win. This is the general manager, after all, who dealt away Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and Dane Dunning for Adam Eaton prior to the 2017 season and then that summer dealt Jesús Luzardo and others to the Athletics for Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. But those two headline-makers represent the last time the Nats have traded away elite prospects for...

Scialabba on progress of draft picks and free agents

Scialabba on progress of draft picks and free agents
Here are updates on how some of the Nationals draft class looked at instructional league workouts, which concluded last week in West Palm Beach, Fla. The players the Nats drafted in 2020 - right-handers Cade Cavalli, Holden Powell and Cole Henry, left-hander Mitchell Parker, infielder Sammy Infante and catcher Brady Lindsly - participated in instructional league during the month of October. Several 2020 undrafted free agents took part in the camp as well, including right-handers Zach Brzykcy...

Scialabba on instructional league, Cavalli's progress

Scialabba on instructional league, Cavalli's progress
The Nationals wrapped up their fall instructional league camp last week in West Palm Beach, Fla. Sixty-five players and more than 30 coaches, coordinators and training staff took part in the five-week workout. Assistant general manager of player development Mark Scialabba spoke about how the camp worked: "It was a great camp. Obviously, very thankful that we had support from ownership to allow us to have this camp. It was really crucial for all these players to get on the field. We brought...

Nats to select No. 11 in 2021 First-Year Player Draft

Nats to select No. 11 in 2021 First-Year Player Draft
The order for the 2021 First-Year Player Draft was unveiled Monday with the Nationals selecting at the No. 11 position in the first round. The 2021 draft will take place on July 11-13, 2021, in conjunction with the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta. The order repeats itself in the second round. So the Nats will pick No. 40 with their second selection. There are only 29 teams in the first two rounds because the Astros forfeited their picks as punishment for the sign-stealing scandal. These...

Cluff values Fredericksburg experience, now continues instruction in Florida

Cluff values Fredericksburg experience, now continues instruction in Florida
In late September, we got a chance to check in with shortstop Jackson Cluff, who spent the last month of the season at the Nationals alternate training site in Fredericksburg, Va. Cluff is rated as the No. 20 Nats prospect by MLBPipeline.com. He played his first season of pro ball at low single-A Hagerstown. Cluff said it was exciting to get a chance to work out with other Nationals players as part of the 60-man player pool. "I think that excitement raises when you get to play at this level...

Noll on late-season time with the Nats: "It's a great opportunity"

Noll on late-season time with the Nats: "It's a great opportunity"
Utility infielder Jake Noll was called up mid-September and got to play in seven games with the Nationals. As he had done all season long at the alternate training site, he continued to swing the bat well. From Sept. 15-27, Noll hit .353 (6-for-17) with one double, two runs scored and just four strikeouts. "It's a great opportunity," Noll said during the last weekend of the regular season. "I've been waiting for this chance to prove myself and prove I belong all year. I'm happy to be here...

2020 Nationals fall instructional league roster and schedule

2020 Nationals fall instructional league roster and schedule
MASNsports.com has obtained a copy of the Nationals' official fall instructional league 65-player roster for 2020. Players in attendance whom MLBPipeline.com lists as top Nats prospects include pitchers Jackson Rutledge, Cade Cavalli, Tim Cate, Mason Denaburg, Cole Henry, Andry Lara, Eddy Yean, Matt Cronin and Seth Romero, who is on a major league rehab assignment with a broken right hand. Top 20 rated Nats position players on hand: first baseman Drew Mendoza, shortstop/third baseman Yasel...

With no minor leagues, Cavalli made most of alternate camp

With no minor leagues, Cavalli made most of alternate camp
Cade Cavalli could justifiably look at the summer of 2020 and be bitter he missed out on his first season of professional baseball. With no minor leagues and no opponents to face, the Nationals' first-round pick could only spend the last two months working out every single day at the club's alternate training site in Fredericksburg, pitching simulated games to the same group of hitters over and over and over. You'll hear no such complaints from Cavalli. If anything, you'll hear nothing but...