Photo by Jake Stephens/TalkNats

It was a 1-1-1 weekend for the Nationals in Grapefruit League play that started with a 4-4 tie on Friday to a 3-2 win over the Mets on Saturday, and a 3-0 loss to the Marlins on Sunday. While that offensive output doesn’t have you or me jumping up and down, there were some really encouraging signs from the pitching staff this weekend. Another thing to consider, especially in Spring Training, the arms are always going to be ahead of the bats at the outset. It takes time for these hitters to get their timing back into full gear and get comfortable against elite-level pitching, so low-scoring games in the spring are nothing to be overly concerned about yet.

The Good

This section is mostly going to be dedicated to the pitching staff for this weekend, so I’ll go ahead and get the offensive shoutout in. Brady House had an excellent day at the plate on Saturday against New York, going 2-3 with two doubles. House will go into 2026 as the Opening Day starting third baseman for the first time in his big league career, and the Nationals need him to take a leap at the plate from where he was last season. A more consistent House and a more powerful Brady House would be a really encouraging sign for the Nationals and their outlook at third base for the future.

The big win for the team this weekend was Jake Irvin‘s performance on Saturday. The right-hander got his second start of the spring and went three innings, allowing just one hit, no runs, while striking out four. This was a massive victory for the coaching staff, as Irvin is coming off a major regression season, riddled with scattered velocity issues. If Jake can take the step this year that we all thought he would last year, it would do a ton to stabilize what, right now, is an extremely shaky-looking starting rotation.

The bullpen as a whole was very strong this weekend, as Cionel Perez, Jackson Rutledge, Cole Henry, PJ Poulin, Clayton Beeter, Orlando Ribalta, and Trevor Gott all showed why they belong on a big league roster, throwing scoreless innings in their opportunities. It’s still anyone’s guess as to what exactly this bullpen will look like in a month, but Paul Toboni and company did an excellent job of going out and giving themselves as many options as possible to try to assemble a bullpen that can at least resemble competence, which would be an improvement from last season.

The New Guys

We talked a little bit last week about Riley Cornelio. Well, we’re talking about him again this week. He got his second opportunity of the spring in yesterday’s game, coming in for the fourth inning, and ended up covering three frames. The right-handed prospect threw three innings, allowing just one run on two hits, with four strikeouts mixed in there. Riley impressed with his slider, and featured a sinker that ranged from 94-96 mph, doing excellent work against guys who will more than likely be on the Marlins’ opening day roster. Keep an eye on Cornelio over this next month, he’s making more and more of a case everyday for the Nationals to give him a shot at the big leagues this season and personally, I’m here for it.

The Nats’ first-round pick in 2024 got to see some action in Saturday’s game. Seaver King went 1-2 in Saturday’s contest, picking up an opposite-field single on a really nice swing against Mets’ starter Tobias Myers. While still a ways to go, King has impressed in the minor leagues with his A+ defense and contact ability at the plate. While I’d love to see him develop some more consistent power, he’s got some time to grow before his chance at playing shortstop for the Nationals comes around.

The Nationals made their first round of cuts from big league camp this morning, as the top two pitching prospects, Jarlin Susana and Travis Sykora, have been sent to minor league camp. They are joined for now by fellow pitchers Andry Lara and Eddy Yean, along with catcher Maxwell Romero.

What’s next?

The Nationals will be in West Palm Beach this afternoon for a very intriguing matchup against the Astros at 1:05. Interesting for the fact that Josiah Gray is back!! The Nationals will see their 2024 Opening Day starter return to the mound for the first time in a Nats uniform this afternoon as he gets the start against the flame-throwing Astros ace, Hunter Brown. Obviously, Gray will be the focus for the Nats today, but the outfield may be a little bit of a sub-plot, if you will. Jacob Young and Dylan Crews are both on the shelf already, both guys picking up some pain during live at-bat sessions on the backfields. While that really isn’t what we all wanted to hear, it does allow guys like Joey Wiemer to get some playing time and potentially make a push for a spot on the roster, so keep an eye out for who the Nats throw out there in the outfield this afternoon.