Photo by Sol Tucker/TalkNats
The Washington Nationals finally gave the first indication of what we can see on Opening Day as manager Blake Butera officially named Cade Cavalli as his starting pitcher. We are exactly two weeks away from that first game of the 2026 season in Chicago at Wrigley Field on March 26.
“I’ve been through a lot. I think that it just is a testament to doing things right as much as you can everyday — making the next best choice. For me, that’s coming in, doing my work, being the same guy, and trying to be a great teammate. I love these guys that I get to come to the field with. I respect them a ton, and I go to work for these guys. I’m just grateful for this opportunity.”
— Cavalli said yesterday
Tomorrow’s listed starter is the newly signed Zack Littell. The rotation is taking shape — but it’s anyone’s guess as to who will be the in the bullpen.
The Nats internal depth chart posted on Nationals.com show Lord and Parker in the bullpen. The closer spot might be between Clayton Beeter and Cole Henry.
The Nationals are 10-4 with three ties so far through the first 17 games. Throw in the 5-1 win against Venezuela’s WBC team, and they are 11-4. If only Spring Training records were an indicator of what will happen in the regular season.
At this point, we only have 17 Spring Training games in the books and the one exhibition game, and no batter has more than 26 official plate appearances on the Washington Nationals. And for that matter, no pitcher has more than 9.0 innings in official games. As the starters play deeper into games, there will be more plate appearances and more innings going forward.
Some of the offensive numbers are really really bad on those stat sheets. Should we be concerned by the poor stats and pleased with the good stats? Yes and no to both. There are cautionary tales on both. But some of the “process” we have seen has been bad and yes, that is concerning.
Again, small sample size stats can change on a dime. And guess what, Brady House has a higher K rate than James Wood. Yes, that is a fact. House’s K rate is 36.4 percent. If Wood or Crews have a 3-hit day, everything changes quickly. Even CJ Abrams has a poor statline of .150 with a .570 OPS, but guess what, his K rate is only 20 percent with a .200 BABIP suggesting that he has hit into bad luck. Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. have both shown patience at the dish. Garcia’s K rate is 7.7 percent.
Houston Astros vs. Washington Nationals
Stadium: CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, West Palm Beach, Florida
1st Pitch: 1l6:05 PM EDT
TV: Houston via the MLB app
Radio: MLB app
