SPOTLIGHT: Cade Cavalli & Brady House Have Turned Heads For The Washington Nationals

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Pulse Boney said that Cade Cavalli has been the one to turn heads in spring trainings,

but also don't look away because Brady House, he's turned a lot of heads as well.

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And later on in today's show, we'll be discussing USA getting the silver medal in the World

Baseball Classic in an electric game last night against Team Venezuela that also featured

a couple of Nationals, one wanted to be a hero, and one certainly did not.

So we'll discuss that later on in the program today.

And in the second segment, Jake Irvin has had a strong spring training.

Do not look past it, but we start off today's show discussing Cade Cavalli and what he

has done and what Pulse Boney has said about him, but also don't look away because our

guy Brady House has done the exact same thing by turning some heads.

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So yesterday Jim Bowden of the Athletic, he does an annual kind of survey and he asks

executives and coaches around the game and he gets them for someone inside their organization

who has turned heads.

And the one that Pulse Boney gave was Cade Cavalli and here's what Pulse Boney had to

say.

Cade has made some adjustments to his pitch mix that we're all very excited about, but

most excited about the guy that he is, the leader that he is, he's an extremely competitive

accountable player who can serve as a model for others on the team.

Obviously some very bright words and he has been named the opening day starter and he's

the guy to go up against the Chicago Cubs and in that piece, Jim Bowden, who's a former

nationals GM, he kind of went in on Cade Cavalli a little bit and said he showed up this

spring with a handlebar mustache having made adjustments to his pitching plan and pitch

sequencing.

And the results have been so positive that he was named the team's opening day starter.

The one stop pitching prospect is prime for his breakout year.

I think he is prime for his breakout year and I do think that we have talked about

Cade Cavalli having a breakout season, the curveball, the new pitch mix, having a new

improved change up in his fastball riding up into the upper 90s, but also I don't even

think he's been the best player in spring training.

I think that has been Brady House.

If I were Pulse Boney and if I were asked who has been turning heads in spring training,

I would say the nationals third baseman Brady House.

So far in spring training like there has been no doubt about it.

Brady House has been the MVP for the Washington Nationals.

If you look at some of the numbers, which by the way, he also just had another double

yesterday, House is crushing the baseball.

He has a 906 slug with six doubles, three home runs and really good defense to back

that up.

I never want to just look away from really good production over the course of 30 plus

at bats in spring training.

It is limited action.

I understand that.

It's about a week's worth of that bat to be put everything together.

But Brady House has really put together probably his best spring training yet.

And I do think that this is real.

I don't think this is just a blip in the radar.

I do feel as if that House is prime for that breakout that we have all anticipated since

being called up in 2025.

And really there are signs that he has improved number one, his approach.

When I have watched that baseball, the spring training pretty limited because they only

have a couple of games on TV.

But when I have watched him, his approach does seem different and even then seeing him

interact with the media and interacting with the guys and seeing the different videos have

been put that have been put out with this regime.

You have seen a much different, more confident Brady House.

I have always been one that I feel as if I can read body language and he just feels more

confident in himself.

And I do think the nationals have done a great job of getting him the right resources,

getting him true media to scout himself.

And I think that with a lot of these different guys, you're going to see them get just a little

bit better.

Brady House might be the one guy to get a lot better.

And I do think that is a real chance because if you think about it, last year it was not

his best season, like his rookie year was not too great.

I think we've all said it, we've all talked about it.

But even further than that, he just seemed lost and the power was not really there.

The hard hits were not really there.

The high exit bellows weren't really there.

The strikeouts, they were there defensively, he was really good at third base.

That's kind of what he has to hang his hat on in 2025.

But I think this is the year where Brady House can actually finally break out and we're

talking about someone who maybe hits 20 home runs this season.

We can be talking about someone who has 25 to 30 doubles on the year, a couple of triples

in there maybe get a little crazy.

If you put him in the right scenarios to hit guys in, I think you will have some really

big eye popping numbers for the nationals by the end of this season.

He is the one guy that so far in spring training, listen, we've talked about the offensive

struggles.

I feel as if that it is an adjustment period when it comes to the nationals in this new

regime and there's kind of a lot of information being thrown at them literally because you've

got true media.

You've got a different philosophy.

Guys are thinking a lot more than actually just doing the thing and I think right now is

the time to make those exact mistakes.

But there has been one guy who has responded to it very well, the entirety of spring training

and it's Brady House.

This is the year that he finally breaks out and this is the year that I do think around

the board, you get guys like Kate Cavali who gets a little bit better, Brady House gets

a little bit better or maybe a lot better, CJ Abrams gets a little bit better.

If you are the Nats at this point, the goal is for everyone to get a little bit better.

It's not going to be like a CJ Abrams is all of a sudden a great defender.

We're not going to see Luis Garcia Jr. all of a sudden become a consistent bat.

But if you can ask them to get just a little bit better, I think the nationals have done

their job in your woman.

And so looking at this right now, I've been calling my shot.

I do feel as if that Brady is ready to break out and I do think that in 2026 we'll be

talking about a much different hitter with Brady House.

Someone who does have power, someone who is behind James Wood and able to hit James Wood

in who by the way has a sprint speed that is well above average at this point.

Someone who's going to hit behind Dateland Lyle, Dale Lyle has been someone very prone

to not having the best decisions on the base pass, but I do think he's a great hitter

and I do think he has a potential to be a really good base runner down the road.

You have got a lot of different things working for the nationals at this point, but I think

Brady House might be at the forefront of what the Washington nationals need.

So I think Paul T'boni naming Kate Follies the guy who has turned his head or turned

his head throughout spring training.

He's absolutely right.

But also I think furthermore than that, Brady House has probably been the guy to really

turn heads in the spring training.

He has been the one who has been the most consistent guy on this team and free offense

that hasn't looked too great, that it ranks in the bottom three of the league in OPS and

slugging and on base percentage and batting average.

You've had an offensive standout with Brady House.

That is something to hang your hat on and I think the nationals certainly have acknowledged

the fact that Brady House could be coming into a big breakout season in 2026.

Next I want to get into Jake Irvin.

Jake Irvin has looked really good.

What does it mean for the nationals if he does do this in 2026 and how big of a development

would it be if Jake Irvin can turn the season around and his career around quite frankly.

Let's talk about that after this.

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We've been talking positively about the nationals and I think with Paul Taboni saying that

Kate Valle has turned head so far in spring training.

There's another arm on this staff who in my opinion has also turned some heads and that's

Jake Irvin.

Jake Irvin is a very interesting guy to watch.

The 29 year old going into this season is coming off.

This is beyond a seer.

His worst season in baseball.

This was a really bad season from in 2025 and there were some legit questions surrounding.

Maybe this guy isn't going to be in the rotation in 2026, but ultimately the nationals

did not really do too much to push him in spring training and maybe they made the right decision

because coming off a year of which 33 starts get a 570 array.

Just take that for what it's worth a hundred and 80 innings pitch, a hundred and 95 hits

and 38 home runs given up like it was a disgusting 2025 for Jake Irvin, but he has come in

a spring training so far and he has looked like a completely different person.

So far in four starts in spring training, he has actually been really good.

He's only given up runs in one outing in his last one just six days ago on March 12 against

the Houston Astros in which he gave up a couple of earned runs in three plus innings pitch.

But yesterday he just wrapped up his best game yet.

Five innings pitch going up against the, I'm sorry, I pulled up on the wrong game log here,

but it was the St. Louis Cardinals, not the Houston Astros, but he is coming off his best

outing yet.

And five innings pitch only given up one hit yesterday, our three hits yesterday only

walking one batter and also striking out five.

And if you've noticed so far, and again, it's only been four starts and he hasn't really

gone past five innings besides one time and that was just yesterday.

But his strikeout numbers are actually looking pretty good as well.

He is pounding the zone, he's painting the corners, you're starting to see him have

a feel for his slightest sweeper again.

And I think that Jake Irvin is someone that should be noteworthy moving forward because

I feel as if we tend to forget what was in 2024.

Jake Irvin in the first half of 2024, like we were literally talking about him being

an all star.

And after that July 4th start of which he went eight innings completely dominated the

New York Mets, we didn't really talk about him after that.

And the reason why is because he absolutely struggled and he went on and just completely

fell off in the second half and it just felt as if that he just kind of ran out of gas.

We have talked about his velocity dropping in a couple of miles per hour over the seasons.

And even then his fastball Velo is still down in the lower 90s.

It hasn't risen up really since pre 2024.

So that is something to note when it comes to Jake Irvin.

Is it running out of gas, is it over usage, or is this just the pitch that he is now?

But we have made a big deal with it because obviously his fastball has been tattooed over

the years.

And the number two last year is coming off a season of which he went up like the most

home runs in baseball.

You've got to kind of wonder where things are at with Jake Irvin.

Well, he is coming off his best spring training and he is coming off his best start by foreign

spring training.

Maybe the nationals have figured out a way to just finesse the situation with Jake Irvin.

Maybe they have found a rhythm of which he's going to have to find in the regular season

again and ultimately help this national team win some more games.

He is entering a very pivotal season for his career.

Don't make any mistake about it.

Like I don't think Jake Irvin is on the hot seat or anything like that because quite

frankly the nationals don't really have that many starting pitchers pushing him at this

point.

But Jake Irvin is certainly to be in the rotation in 2027.

He struggles this year.

It's rotation because while again, you don't really have that many guys pushing you.

You do have a Luis Peralas type who I think will be in the rotation eventually this season

and will have a pretty impactful year at some point.

I think DJ Hurs comes back healthy for the nationals and certainly pushes someone out of

the rotation.

Foster Griffin has been really exciting.

Brad Lord coming out of the bullpen I think could be really interesting.

But it is something to note that Jake Irvin might be one of those guys who goes back to

his old self because it feels as if we may have pretty maturedly written him off.

And now as he started to really pitch well down and spring training, maybe it does make

you think a little bit differently about where things are at with Jake Irvin.

And I do think the nationals, if you can get him to turn his season around and really

just turn things around in general, then the nationals are in pretty good shape of where

they are.

And I do think that they kind of need it.

And if you're looking at this thing from a 30,000 foot view, you've got no help pitching

outside of Cade Cavali.

You've got a couple of guys that might be intriguing.

But overall, I don't think anybody can say that they're confident that any pitcher outside

of Cade Cavali will be in the 2027 rotation.

Can you confidently say that?

I can't.

So that's kind of where I'm at.

And I do think that Irvin has done really well.

But what does happen to see if we can carry it over in 2026.

And if he can, that is probably one of the biggest developments for the nationals in

2026.

Because this is someone who, again, has had talent, has had all-star campaign-like seasons.

It's just a matter of him staying consistent and keeping the ball in the yard.

That's really what it comes down to with Jacob and a simple as that.

But next I want to talk about USA getting silver and some nets on nets, crime, former

nets that is.

And one guy, oh boy, you could have expected it.

We'll tell you after this.

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Team USA got silver but it really just out shined because there was some former net on

that crime when it came in the bottom of the eighth inning yesterday, USA versus Venezuela,

two outs, Bryce Harper had to play and catch out who was pitching against team USA in that

situation, Andres Machado, the same Andres Machado who is not pitched in a major league

baseball game since I believe 2023, but let me check that real quick.

And I saw that Andres Machado is on the roster.

I kind of thought that to myself and yes, that's right, he has not pitched in baseball and

major league baseball since 2023.

The 32 year old pitching for team Venezuela who won gold, going up against Bryce Harper

and Bryce Harper hitting the game tying home run with two outs in the bottom of the

eighth inning.

I had a tweet fired up ready to go saying that Andres Machado is going to be the reason

why team USA does not win the World Baseball Classic.

I switched that up real quick.

He was the reason why team Venezuela almost lost the World Baseball Classic.

Listen, even further than that, like while it was pretty funny and there are some good

theater for nationals fans, last night's stunk.

I mean, this is team USA's game.

They should have won yesterday in my mind.

The bats were awful.

I thought taking Gunnar Henderson out was a very questionable decision.

And it's just one of those things where can we have this thing every single season?

We have to now wait four years for the World Baseball Classic and think of this.

Bryce Harper may not be on team USA.

Aaron Judge may not be on team USA in four years.

They'll certainly be good players, I think.

But they'll kind of be like Clayton Kershaw, maybe, or it's just like an older mentor.

And maybe they are still some of the games best.

But are they going to be the stars?

I don't know, I can't say that confidently.

So this was Bryce Harper and Aaron Judges kind of last chance to break out with team USA

and win that gold medal and going up against team Venezuela who is the lesser against team

Dominican Republic who had a loaded offense.

And Venezuela also had a very good offense, like Euhinho Sures was certainly a name to

watch.

He balled out, Michael Garcia, third baseman for the Kansas City Royals.

He is certainly a real pleasure to watch.

And team Venezuela, they got the job done.

And unfortunately for team USA, they're now going to have to wait for the next four years.

But I thought someone was really cool, by the way, at the end of it.

Rob Manfred.

He was actually handing out the medals for the World Baseball Classic and had some words

for team USA and each and every single one of the players.

It seems pretty pivotal in a year where the CBA is going to be expiring after this season.

And also, players are going to be fighting for the right to play in the Olympics in

2027 when it's here in Los Angeles.

Now we'll rail Rob Manfred in the players association, allow these guys to go out and

compete in the middle of the season.

Will they pause Major League Baseball?

That's probably the big question.

And I think in a work stoppage situation, that's kind of what they are dealing with at

this point when it comes to team USA.

And who knows, maybe Major League Baseball won't be playing in the summer months there.

Maybe they will be still locked down.

Maybe there is no season in 2027.

That's certainly a possibility.

I would probably bet against it, but it's also something to watch.

But I thought it was really cool with everything going on.

Rob Manfred, who gets a lot of shrapnel, did a cool thing and handed out the medals and

I thought that was a cool, classy situation.

So unfortunately, the World Baseball Classic is over.

There was a fun ride.

You saw a couple of former nationals.

You saw Matt Marivus, make the nationals proud with team Israel.

You saw Harry Ford really break out for team Great Britain.

It has been so much fun covering this tournament.

But unfortunately, the time is over.

So I will catch you guys in the flip side.

Have a good one.

Go nads.