New, young faces abound in the clubhouse in West Palm. Toboni and Butera have reportedly made good first impressions on the players. James Wood told the press that this year will be about accountability — holding themselves and each other accountable for their actions.
And, how about those two 18 year-old youngsters vying for the position of shortstop? Gavin Fien and Eli Willits. I’m looking forward to watching them develop over the next few years.
Now let’s take a look at the five pitchers that MLB predicts will make up the Nationals starting rotation on opening day. While Toboni and Butera have been full of hype about the pitching staff, I have to admit that I am a bit skeptical. Hoping to be surprised.
Cade Cavalli carries perhaps the biggest expectations for the pitching staff. The Nationals drafted him in the first round of the 2020 draft and he has consistently been a top prospect. Since then, he has suffered through many injuries but now appears to be strong and ready to go. He has a wicked fast ball that can reach 100 MPH.
Miles Mikolas came to the Nationals recently in a trade with St. Louis. At 37 years old, he will be one of the oldest players on the squad. He is a two-time NL All-Star and one of only four pitchers in Major League Baseball to make 31 or more starts in each of the last four seasons. We need that kind of work horse.
Jake Irvin returns after pitching 33 games in both the 2024 and 2025 campaigns. His results have not been electrifying but he is a serviceable MLB starter. I find Jake very endearing — you might recall that last year he started training camp by telling each of his teammates that he loved them to see how many would say it back (and most did).
Foster Griffin, 30, returns to MLB after three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he went 18-10 and posted a 2.57 ERA across 315 2/3 innings. Let’s hope he can keep that up this year!
Brad Lord bounced between a starting role and the bullpen in 2025. His ERA coming out of the bullpen was 2.79 compared to 4.99 as a starter. However, Toboni has made it clear that he wants to see Lord in a leading role this year.
Where does Josiah Gray fit in? Hopefully he will be recovered and ready to go as a starter fairly early in the season. Also expect to see Mitchell Parker and Andrew Alvarez compete for starting roles.
I will be traveling the world for the next four months but will continue to follow the team and bring you updates. I’ll also be repping the Nats wherever I go, including on the Warner Brothers studio tour in LA.
Let’s be the envy of sports.
#thenatslady #theswarm
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