As spring training continues to roll on for the Washington Nationals, the club is beginning to narrow down some of the players who will end up making their Opening Day roster. Some players are obviously cemented like James Wood, Daylen Lile, or CJ Abrams for example, but there were a ton of roles that were up for grabs coming into West Palm Beach.
One of the bigger ones was the arrangement of the starting rotation for the Nationals, which has guys like Josiah Gray and offseason acquisition Foster Griffin also battling for spots near the top of the rotation. One guy who had a lot of hype coming into spring training this year and has lived up to it so far is looking more and more likely to be the guy who earns the nod.
That guy is righty Cade Cavalli, whose most recent performance on Friday may have begun to cement his case for the Nationals. The former Top 100 prospect is starting to look more like the guy who was once one of the most touted pitching prospects in all of baseball, and he seems like he could truly break out this year.
On Friday night, Cavalli continued his strong spring, throwing 4.0 shutout innings against the Houston Astros, allowing just 1 hit and 1 unearned run while striking out 6 batters and walking none. As could be the theme for the Nationals this season, he got no run support, earning a loss in the game despite not allowing an earned run.
His stuff has looked fantastic, and his fastball has been averaging around 97 MPH, showing that he is further removed from Tommy John Surgery that held him out for so long. As Mark Zuckerman pointed out on X, Cavalli's total line this spring is very impressive, with 6.0 innings pitched, just 1 hit allowed, 1 walk issued, and 7 strikeouts so far.
Additionally, as Zuckerman also pointed out in the same tweet, he is currently on a 5-day schedule that would exactly line him up to be the Opening Day starter against the Chicago Cubs on March 26th. With the way he is rolling right now, it would be an awesome moment for Cavalli to earn the nod, as his professional journey has had a lot of hardships with injuries and setbacks.
Do you think Cade Cavalli should be the Opening Day starter for the Nationals based on early returns? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.