Notes and quotes as the Nationals prepare for the Grapefruit League opener tomorrow…
PITCHING PLANS:
Having announced his plan to send Patrick Corbin out to start the Grapefruit League opener on Saturday, Washington Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez provided more details about the plans for the pitching over the first weekend of games this spring.
Corbin will start against the Houston Astros in the clubs’ shared Spring Training home (6:05 PM ET; Radio only via Nationals.com*), then it will be Jackson Rutledge, Joan Adon, DJ Herz, Jordan Weems; Richard Bleier, and Robert Gsellman coming out of the bullpen as things get underway in West Palm Beach, FL.
“We’re going to do something a little bit different,” Martinez said when asked about the plan for his pitchers in the opener.
“Corbin is going to get to about two innings, 35 pitches, so will Rut, so will Adon,” he told reporters.
Why did they decide to do it “a little bit different”? Because the pitchers all came into camp ramped up from their winter workouts and ready to go.
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“We’ve done it where they only went one inning,” he explained. “But the reason being is that they’re so stretched out already. They’re already built up to 45-50 pitches in their bullpens, so we thought we’d do it this way, just let them go face some hitters and get two innings, 35 pitches.”
It’s not just the starters. The relievers came into Spring Training ready to go as well, so their manager is going to send them out there too.
“Once again, these guys came to camp already throwing X amount of sides and bullpens.
“So they’re ready to get in the game. They want to face hitters.”
“I’m really proud of what they did this winter,” he added, “… as far as preparing for coming to Spring Training. They really worked hard on coming to Spring Training ready to go.”
[ed. note – “ * = via the Nationals – ‘The game will also be televised on delay, airing later [on Saturday] night at 10:00 p.m. on MLB Network with no blackout restrictions.’”]
RUTLEDGE READY?:
In 23 starts and 119 innings pitched between Double- and Triple-A in the Nationals’ system in 2023, Jackson Rutledge, Washington’s 24-year-old, 2019 1st Round pick put up a combined 3.71 ERA, 55 walks (4.16 BB/9), 106 strikeouts (8.02 K/9), a .227 BAA, and a 1.27 WHIP, (with a 3.16 ERA in 12 starts at AA Harrisburg, and a 4.44 ERA in 11 starts at AAA Rochester), earning a late-season opportunity to pitch in the big leagues.
“We’re looking forward to him getting his feet wet, making his debut, getting a few starts in the big leagues before the season ends,” GM Mike Rizzo said before Rutledge’s first start in the majors, “… and then coming to Spring Training and trying to battle for one of the five starter spots that will be available in [2024].”
Rutledge made four starts in the majors down the stretch, giving up 24 hits and 15 runs in 20 innings of work (6.75 ERA, 5.86 FIP), over which he walked six, and struck out 12, with opposing hitters putting up a combined .304/.364/.519 line against him.
Jackson Rutledge pic.twitter.com/IomBSSh5lO
— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) February 15, 2024
The 6’8” right-hander talked late in 2023 about proving something to himself over the course of his big league run.
“It just tells me that I belong here,” Rutledge told reporters after his final outing, a start against Atlanta’s Braves, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman.
“I can do it against … one of the best lineups in baseball. I’m able to have success. That kind of gives me confidence moving forward.”
Nationals’ skipper Davey Martinez talked earlier this week about Rutledge impressing early this spring.
“Oh, man. I loved the way he threw the ball,” Martinez said after Rutledge threw live BP.
“He really worked hard on his hip mobility to help him get through a little bit quicker, but he stayed in his legs a lot better today, and that’s great, because it allows him to throw more strikes that way. So he threw the ball well, he threw strikes. His slider was really good today. So we’re excited about him.”
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Martinez was excited to see Rutledge put into practice some of the things they had asked him to work on over the winter.
“We’re looking for him to be clean, right,” the manager said, “and that’s what it’s all about, and for him to address some of the issues that we had with him last year, that we saw, and [for] him [to] come into camp the way he came in, it’s great, and it only speeds up the process for him to actually get ready for the season.”
MENESES GETS IT:
“Joey Meneses is kind of the epitome of hitting with runners in scoring position, and producing in big moments,” Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo said this winter in assessing where the 31-year-old slugger (who debuted as a 30-year-old in 2022) fits into the mix in D.C. in 2024 and beyond.
Meneses finished the 2023 campaign 61 for 168 (.363/.396/.494) with runners in scoring position, as Rizzo noted above, with a .275/.321/.401 line overall, hitting 36 doubles and 13 home runs in 154 games and 657 plate appearances.
Considering he hit 14 doubles and 13 homers over a total of 56 games and 240 PAs in his breakthrough run after making his MLB debut late in 2022, Meneses’s power numbers last year were underwhelming, but he was as they say, the clutch.
His manager wants to see more of the same from Meneses in 2024.
Photo by Adam Hagy/Getty Images
“For me, the run production is what we’re looking for,” Davey Martinez said when he was asked about prioritizing hitting for power vs driving in runs however it’s done.
“Of course, we want to see — I love home runs. I’ve always said it, ‘Home runs are sexy,’ right? I mean, we all love it, but he’s the one guy that we count on to drive in those runs. Back in the day, I watched the St. Louis Cardinals, they had one guy that could hit home runs, it was Jack Clark, I saw Tommy Herr hit five home runs and drive in 106 runs, so that’s productive to me. I really feel that he’s going to be able to drive the ball, but want him to remember that he’s in the middle of our lineup to drive in runs for us.”
Martinez said Meneses adjusted to his DH/run production role last season as things went along, and he started to understand what the club needed from their slugger.
“A lot of it is Joey tries to really stay inside the baseball,“ Martinez explained, “… and this year he really came with the mindset where if the ball is in he’s going to try to hit the ball — his point of contact is going to be a little out front, but he understands that the middle of the field is where he needs to be.”