• The Nats Report
  • Posts
  • ⚾️⚾️ The Morning Briefing: Spring Breakout Series is today

⚾️⚾️ The Morning Briefing: Spring Breakout Series is today

March 15, 2024 • Reading Time: 7 minutes

Good Morning, Washington Nationals Fans,

Here are the latest headlines and analyses around the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball for today, March 15.

Welcome to the Morning Briefing! Haden here. Let’s talk about these prospects!

Leading this Morning’s Briefing: Spring Breakout Game

At 3:05 p.m. ET you can watch the top Nationals prospects take on the top prospects for the Mets. You can watch the game on MLB.com, the MLB app, ESPN+, SNY, and listen on Nats.com. Since the teams are playing in Clover Park, the Mets Florida Complex, there will be Statcast data to dive into there.

Of course, most eyes are on James Wood and Dylan Crews, the Nats Report No. 1 and 2 prospects respectively, but I am excited to get Statcast numbers on the Nats pitchers. It should provide more insight into how Jackson Rutledge plans to attack opposing hitters. It will also be the first look at last year’s third-round pick, Travis Sykora (our No. 9 prospect). The other pitchers of note include Jarlin Susana, Cole Henry, DJ Herz, and Mitchell Parker. All but Susana figure to make some sort of contribution to the major league club this season, so getting an early look will be fun.

Richard • Mar 13, 2024

JUPITER, Fla. - The Washington Nationals have won three in a row; this time, the Nationals won 2-1 over the Marlins. RHP Jake Irvin had an impressive second start of spring training by outing by going five innings, only giving up one hit, and facing 15 battersRead full story →

And of course, a few other prospects who have gotten sparse at-bats so far this spring like Yohandy Morales, Andrew Pinckney, and Elijah Green will get some playing time as well.

We will be putting out game notes for our paid subscribers prior to the game so if that is something of interest please subscribe!

Some Statcast Notes

In Wednesday’s game against the Marlins, Jake Irvin shoved. His fastball averaged 1.4 mph harder while attacking the top of the zone (and the zone in general). He got five whiffs on the heater. While obviously a small sample size, the 30 percent whiff rate in this game is significantly higher than the 19.2 percent he had in 2023. Improving the fastball location, ditching his sinker against lefties, and some extra heat on the pitch? Jake Irvin just might be someone the Nationals can include in the long-term picture.

Jake Irvin’s pitch chart via Baseball Savant and MLB.com

Keibert Ruiz had two of the seven hardest-hit balls of the game, with a 104.3 mph double and a 99.9 mph flyout. Last season Ruiz struggled to lay off pitches that he could drive despite some great power. Laying off the junk will be the next step if Ruiz ascends to stardom.

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.

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:

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

Braves sign Adam Duvall (again) via MLB Trade Rumors

If you haven’t already, please consider supporting this publication with a paid subscription so you don’t miss a thing.

The Nats Report is an independent reader-supported project with both free and paid subscriptions and not affiliated with the Washington Nationals.

Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster our independent coverage of the Washington Nationals and Major League Baseball.

Reply

or to participate.