On Saturday right handed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang threw a live batting practice and was throwing the hardest he has in quite some time.
Wang was able to locate the mound and throw his fastball, curveball and slider for strikes but Wang says he still needs to work on his changeup some more.
The next step for Wang will be a intrasquad Minor League Game this upcoming Friday at their minor league complex. Wang will only pitch a couple innings but should give us more of an idea as to where his shoulder is at this point and could be a big step in helping him to get back to pitching in the major leagues.
Of Wang’s progress pitching coach Steve McCatty said
"“He is throwing the ball well. He will get out there, see some bats and get into some games. Then we’ll see where we are at with him. The ball has a real good sink. I’m sure the big step, I’m guessing, in his mind is, how does he feel? How was he feeling after throwing in the bullpen and batting practice?”"
McCatty then continued on to say
"“Obviously, he feels pretty good because he hasn’t had any problems. It’s getting better and better, like everybody else.”"
Even Wang himself has changed his tune lately from saying he hopes to make it to the majors by mid April or May to now saying he hopes to be on the team for opening day.
A healthy Wang could be a good thing for Nationals fans because it gives them another proven veteran starter who if he can return to anything close to his old form could be big for the Nationals. Between the 2005 through 2008 season Wang pitched in a total of 628.2 innings with an era of 3.79.
Only starting pitchers for the Nationals last season to put up an era of 3.79 or lower last season was Livan Hernandez 3.66 and Stephen Strasburg with a 2.91 era.
So if he can manage to win a spot in the starting rotation Wang could be a nice surprise for the Nats this season. Winning a spot though wont be easy as he is competing with about 6 to 8 other pitchers for the last spot in the rotation.
Wang is definitely worth keeping an eye on this Spring.