Cavalli's Power Arm: Nationals' Star in the Making

0:00It's April 2nd. This is Washington Nationals News Today, AI-powered stories from inside your team. Cade Cavali is turning heads for the Nationals with his electric right arm. At 27, this first round draft pick is finally healthy after injuries sideline him. His fastball sits 95-98 mph, packing cut and rye that sets up his full arsenal. It's no forcing only guy. He mixes in sinkers against varieties for that extra nasty movement. His real weapons shine in the secondaries, starting with that power 12-6 curveball in the mid-80s. It drops like a hammer, especially tough on lefties. Then there's the sweeper, almost the curve variant with big drop in sweep, keeping hitters guessing. Lately against varieties, he's limited them to just one hit while walking a few too many, but his four-pitch mix stays unpredictable. Fans and scouts see the payoff now from when the gnats grabbed him high in the draft. He handled the Phillies lineup comfortably yesterday, wrapping up in the fifth and

1:01sixth innings, despite surviving early. No small feat against those stars, and his shows his stuff plays up in big spots. Coaches might push him to lean more on the sinker versus varieties, and revive that change up against lefties. It's been a whiff machine, hitting 60% this year after 41.8 last season, but usage sits low at 6%. Against his bugaboo strikes are there, but location gets spotty with two strikes. If Cavali sharpens that edge and evolves his mix, he could dominate. Even as is, he's the power arm, with breaking balls and change up the gnats streamed of, finally delivering in the majors.