Driving the day at the Nats Report
Here are some top stories we're tracking in the Nats Report Newsroom

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
RHP Tyler Stuart

At last year's trade deadline, the Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Tyler Stuart from the New York Mets for outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker. At the time of the trade, Stuart was 3-7 with a 3.96 ERA in 17 starts for Double-A Binghamton. He had 90 strikeouts in 84 innings and held opposing batters to a .259 average. In his final five starts before the trade, Stuart pitched to a 2.00 ERA (6 earned runs in 27 innings), with 28 strikeouts, two walks, and a .208 opponents' batting average (21-for-101).

Stuart finished the 2024 season with a 4-8 record and a 4.12 ERA over 122.1 innings pitched, striking out 135 in 25 appearances (all starts). He finished the season at Triple-A Rochester.

In 2023, Stuart led all of Minor League Baseball (full season) with a 2.20 ERA and led the Mets' system with a 1.10 WHIP in 21 starts between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. He was named a Baseball America High-A All-Star and an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star. Stuart went 4-0 with a 1.55 ERA in 14 starts for High-A Brooklyn before being promoted to Double-A Binghamton for his final seven starts of the season. He earned Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors after his final start on August 23 against New Hampshire, when he pitched six shutout innings, allowing two hits and striking out six.

Ranked as the Mets' No. 17 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 23 by Baseball America, Stuart has a career minor league record of 10-9 with a 3.09 ERA and 9.48 strikeouts per nine innings in 41 games (40 starts). He was drafted by the Mets in the sixth round of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Southern Mississippi.

Sources indicate that Stuart will turn heads in spring training this year, and there is hope that his fastball velocity will consistently reach 95-97 mph for more innings this season. He has also reportedly made adjustments to his pitching repertoire based on team evaluations and requests. Stuart is a prospect to watch this spring training, as he may have a chance to make the major league roster, or at least be close to doing so, later in the season.

PERSPECTIVE
Pitchers and Catchers Report this Week

The biggest story that I am going to be watching carefully is going to be seeing the sounds of the ball hitting the glove. It will be interesting to see how pitchers on the DL last season make the recovery we all hope for. The biggest name I will be watching is RHP Cade Cavalli, and the strength of his arm and the velocity of the pitches he throws.

In the middle and towards the end of last season, Cavalli was rumored to be having some pain after throwing pitches with the Wilmington, which might have prevented him from leaping Triple-A towards the end. Pitchers like DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker will also be on my radar as pitchers report to Spring Training. Lastly, I will also focus on RHP Jackson Rutledge and see if he has made any strides toward becoming the pitcher that we all know he is.

For the catchers, I can’t wait to see Drew Millas behind the plate, and hopefully, he can get the reps and become the secondary catcher or at least come out of Spring Training in the Majors. As we reported early in the off-season, there will be competition for the starting catcher despite Keibert Ruiz's contract with the team.

Either way, it will be nice to watch some live baseball! Who’s ready? Because we are! Be sure to follow us on our Live Spring Training Blog, which we will update with news, analysis videos, pictures, and so much more during Spring Training.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 20TH ANNIVERSARY MOMENT
Presidential Power

President George W. Bush threw out the opening pitch of the Washington DC Nationals home opener at RFK Stadium in Washington DC on Thursday, April 14, 2005.

Speed Reads
What we think the Washington Nationals front office is reading