If there is one thing that the Washington Nationals have a lot of in their organization currently, it is big-league caliber starting pitchers. Between guys like MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, DJ Herz, and Michael Soroka, among others, you have a group of pitchers that have looked brilliant at times and have shown the upside to be capable at the least in the big leagues.
Outside of these 5, you also have a few arms that will also be vying for spots in the starting rotation like Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Trevor Williams, and the forgotten man in this equation, Cade Cavalli. It was only a few short years ago that Cavalli was lighting up the radar gun in the 2021 All Star Futures Game in Colorado, and fans were dreaming about what it would look like once he got the call to the show.
At that time he was the #1 prospect in the organization, and was rising up the MLB.com Top 100 list, and peaked as high as the 39th-best prospect in baseball before 2022. He would get his call to the show in 2022, making just 1 start with the Nationals before being shut down for the rest of the season due to injury. Unfortunately, this would not be the only injury he would suffer, as Tommy John Surgery would knock him out for the entirety of the 2023 season.
His return would come during the 2024 season, and despite claims from Nationals' manager Davey Martinez that we would see Cavalli back on a big league mound before the end of the season, that appearance never came, and he would spend the remainder of 2024 in the minors on rehab assignments.
Fast forward to 2025, and the 26-year-old Cavalli is entering a pretty pivotal crossroads for the first time in his professional career. He last appeared in a big league game in 2022, and despite still having that upside that could plant him as one of the top arms on the staff for years to come, injuries have kept him from showing off what he is truly capable of on a consistent basis. He has lost a lot of his prospect hype, and might honestly be one of the most underrated prospects in the organization now.
Martinez made some interesting comments last week regarding Cavalli's outlook for the 2025 season, stating that while Cavalli is finally healthy, it is unclear at this time where he is going to begin the season. You can check out this excerpt below from his comments on Cavalli and try to interpret Davey's comments for yourself.
Martinez gives an update on Nationals pitching prospect Cade Cavalli.
— TheNatsReport 🇺🇸 ⚾ (@TheNatsReport) February 12, 2025
(📸: Photo via Alec Geis for the Nats Report) pic.twitter.com/nPtsEJ2Czj
To me, what makes the most sense given his durability concerns of the last few years and abundance of starting arms vying for rotation spots, would be for him to spend time in AAA, and then maybe receive a call-up after the trade deadline to finish the season. Since he has not pitched a full season in over 3 years now, he is going to have to build his innings back up, and it is likely better for his confidence that he gets a chance to build that up against lesser competition rather than throwing him into the fire against big league competition.
I have been a pretty big believer in Cavalli's abilities and his true upside that I believe could make him a #2 or #3 starter in this rotation for many years to come, but I hope he is able to stay healthy in the 2025 season first and foremost. The best ability in professional sports is availability, and Cavalli's availability over the last few years has been little to none. Let his health take care of itself first, and then let him get his chance to prove himself at the big league level.
Where do you think Cade Cavalli should begin the 2025 season? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.