Good Morning, Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, March 27.

Time flies, huh? Tomorrow is Opening Day, meaning we will again be in your inbox every weekday with the Morning Briefing starting tomorrow.

This season, we plan on ramping up our coverage of all minor league affiliates with weekly updates on how all the prospects are performing. We also will be providing game notes to Minor League and Major League Games, recaps, and other great perspectives and stories throughout the season, so now is the perfect time to get the other Nats fans in your life on board with The Nats Report.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here. Let’s talk about the prospect game and who made the team!

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: Nats beat prospect team 13-1

The Nationals took it to their younger future replacements yesterday, putting up 13 runs in the first five innings. Joey Meneses ended the game a home run short of a cycle, CJ Abrams went 3 for 4 with a double, and Luis García Jr. had three knocks.

Jackson Rutledge was almost the sole allower of the runs, allowing 12 of the runs (though his replacement Tyler Schoff allowed two of those runs to score after Rutledge put them on). His case is so perplexing to me. He constantly grades out well from a stuff perspective but never seems to show it against big-league hitters. For someone as analytically inclined as him, I don’t doubt he will eventually figure it out. The sooner the better though, because I am tired of watching Trevor Williams.

Speaking of Williams, he looked good against the lower-level prospects he faced yesterday. But then again, James Wood, Drew Millas, Robert Hassell III, and Trey Lipscomb were already out of the game by the time Williams came in.

Incoming Orioles Owner David Rubenstein expressed optimism in reaching an agreement with the Washington Nationals regarding MASN

Richard • Mar 27, 2024

The incoming Orioles owner, David Rubenstein, expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with the Washington Nationals regarding the MASN situation after the sale of the Orioles is completed, according to Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun. During a forum tonight at the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr., Rubenstein, the incoming Orioles owner, discussed the t…

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So what positives can we take from such a lopsided affair? Well, MacKenzie Gore may have figured it all out. He was averaging 96.4 mph on his fastball (last year he was averaging 95) and his slider was sitting in the low 90s. That harder slider along with taking some heat off his other offspeeds gives Gore a ton more velocity separation on his pitches. Instead of his non-fastballs being 5.5 mph apart, he now has 9 mph separating them. This worked very well against the upper prospects, as Gore struck out seven in four innings of work. To take it a step further, of the 34 swings made against Gore, the batters whiffed on 18 of them. Sure, it is a tiny sample against non-major league hitters, but I am excited to see the season he puts together in 2024.

Jarlin Susana got some shine yesterday as well, as he was a Jacob Young foul ball short of an immaculate inning. He was averaging 101 mph with his heater and his slider was sitting in the upper 80s. If starting pitching does not work out for the kid, he will be an electric reliever for the Nationals.

T.J. White took home the hardest hit ball award, hitting a 110.2 mph, 422-foot bomb off Trevor Williams. White is coming off a down year at the plate after playing at the hitter’s graveyard that is High-A Wilmington. It would be a huge relief for the Nationals if he even somewhat rebounded in 2024.

The Roster is Set

The Nationals officially set their 26-man roster yesterday, sending Trey Lipscomb back down to the minors and selecting the right-handed reliever Derek Law’s contract. The team sent Cade Cavalli to the 60-day IL to clear a spot on the 40-man for Law.

This means Nasim Nuñez will be the 26th man. Expect him to play plus defense when Abrams takes a day off and as a pinch runner when needed.

An item to keep an eye on, Eddie Rosario got the start in center field over Victor Robles yesterday. We will know on Thursday when the Nats take on Cincinnati tomorrow if that is indeed the defensive alignment they have chosen.

Our 40-man Roster Breakdown Continues

We will be breaking down every player on the 40-man roster until Opening Day. You can read the previous editions by clicking the button below.

Click here for the latest off-season headlines, rumors, trades, and more.

ICYMI: Latest articles on the Nats Report

Even though it is the offseason, we have been extremely busy producing great content on the Nats Report. Here are just a couple of the articles that we have published recently that you might have missed:

• Podcast: In the Clubhouse (Spring Training Notes)
• Spring Training Storylines to Watch
• Potential ballpark funding changes
• Can We Get Some Relief?
• Sleepers! Get Your Sleeper Prospects Here!

We are working on a lot of great Nationals-themed content all off-season so make sure that you are following us on all the major social media channels for the latest.

Featured Stories of the Day

D-Backs sign LHP Montgomery via MLB Trade Rumors

Rockies extend shortstop Tovar through 2031 via MLB Trade Rumors

Phils extend LHP Strahm via MLB Trade Rumors

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