Cade

Cavalli

Cavalli, who entered with a 38/14 K/BB in 30 2/3 innings, struck out just two and walked three tonight. He also hit a batter for the fifth time in eight starts. The defeat leaves him 1-2 with a 4.15 ERA. Cavalli’s talent is obvious, but some inconsistency had to be expected, given that he entered the season having pitched a total of 82 innings over the last three seasons.

This was an impressive start. Cavalli forced multiple swing-and-misses with all five of his pitches and his knuckle-curve was especially sharp, forcing eight. That pitch is his make-or-break offering and when it’s on, he is nasty. Cavalli did get to relax with his lineup spotting him a two-run lead in the first inning and eight-run margin in the fourth. After they blew the game open, he threw 24 consecutive strikes to finish off his outing and complete six innings for the second time this season. That’s sensational in-game awareness. He’s also struck out 10 batters in consecutive starts and will try to stay hot with a two-start week on deck against the Twins and Marlins.

He was brought out for the top of the sixth but quickly chased after a leadoff single. The Braves were able to string together four hits against him in the top of the fourth, including two doubles, but he allowed just four hard-hit balls. Cavalli was averaging 97.1 mph with the heater today and his knuckle curve had a 50 percent CSW rate. The game got away from the Nats late, leaving Cavalli with no shot at a win. He has now struck out 15 in his last nine innings and, though he’s mostly a streamer, the strikeout upside could play against the Mets next week.

Cavalli worked around a hit in the first inning, then allowed a run in on three hits in the second. The Giants plated two more runs in the third, both unearned after a runner reached on an error. Cavalli’s day would be done after the fourth at 92 pitches. While it was still an inefficient outing with a high pitch count, he threw 63 pitches for strikes and did not walk a batter for the first time this season. The 27-year-old right-hander will look to build on that when he takes a 4.12 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, and an 18/12 K/BB ratio over 19 2/3 innings into a tough home start against the Braves on Thursday.

Cavalli melted down in spectacular fashion during the second inning of this one when he issued a bases-loaded walk to Oneil Cruz before surrendering back-to-back run-scoring hits to Brandon Lowe and Bryan Reynolds. He was mercifully lifted by Nationals manager Blake Butera and was bailed out from any further damage by reliever Paxton Schultz. The 27-year-old righty holds a lackluster 4.60 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and 13/12 K/BB ratio across 15 2/3 innings over four starts. He’s talented enough to make a fantasy impact in deeper formats, but the results haven’t been there so far. He’ll attempt to rebound when he faces the Giants on Saturday to close out a two-start week.

This could have gone much worse. Cavalli was unable to locate his arsenal for the overwhelming majority of his arsenal, and he threw just 51-of-92 pitches for strikes while walking four. He still was able to give up just the pair of runs, and one was caused by an error by CJ Abrams. The 27-year-old will try and find the strike zone more consistently against the Pirates on Sunday.

He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out three. The run came right away in the first, as Trea Turner walked, stole second and then scored on a Kyle Schwarber liner to center that Jacob Young dove for but came up short on. It was a bad call from Young to attempt to catch it, but it actually worked out great for the Nationals since Schwarber was thrown out trying to take third after the ball bounced towards the wall. Cavalli went on to pitch his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and worked around the leadoff man reaching in the third and fourth before retiring seven batters in a row to finish the outing. It was a fine outing against a strong offense, and the Nationals have to be encouraged by the way he’s throwing. Still, he’s a risky fantasy pickup while pitching on a bad team with an especially poor defense.

The Nationals gave Cavalli a 7-2 lead by scoring six times in the top of the fourth, but he couldn’t finish the bottom of the inning, much less stay in for the fifth to qualify for the win. Cavalli struck out five and walked three while throwing 75 pitches to get his 11 outs. With his ability to generate grounders, he’ll start getting quicker outs at some point. However, he’s probably not going to offer mixed-league value in the short term. He’ll make his next start Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Cavalli scattered three hits and notched one strikeout, throwing 71 pitches (47 strikes) in his final spring outing. The 27-year-old former top prospect gets the ball for Washington’s season opener on Thursday afternoon against the Cubs at Wrigley Field after finishing spring training by allowing just one run (zero earned) along with a 10/2 K/BB ratio over 14 innings of work. He’s a worthwhile late-round lottery ticket in all fantasy formats based on his spring performance and prospect pedigree.

Cavalli has not yet allowed a run this spring and threw 68 percent strikes in this one, which is great news given his previous command concerns. However, he only produced a 12 percent whiff rate, which is not ideal. However, the 27-year-old former top prospect will be the Nationals’ Opening Day starter and has intriguing raw stuff, so he could be worth a late-round dart throw in fantasy drafts. Just don’t hold onto him too long if he starts the season slow.