It has only been three starts, but it sure looks like the wait was worth it for Cade Cavalli. He got his first career win today, which has been a long time coming for the former first round pick. It has been a long road, but it looks like Cade Cavalli has finally arrived.
Despite poor Minor League numbers, Cade Cavalli has looked the part in his first 3 big league starts. He went 7 scoreless against a fearsome Phillies lineup this afternoon to drop his ERA to 2.20 in 16.1 innings.
However, the pure
stuff is even more impressive than the results. Cavalli is throwing upper 90’s, sometimes even triple-digit heat, but his fastball is not even his best pitch. That would be his mid to upper 80’s power curve. It is a thing of beauty and gets a ton of swings and misses. The hook will be a huge key to Cavalli’s success moving forward.
Today he featured that curve heavily and it worked. Cavalli threw it 40% of the time, more than he threw any other pitch. The beautiful thing about his curveball is that it works to lefties and righties. Cavalli threw the pitch 40% of the time to both lefties and righties. He stayed away from the 4-seam fastball, only throwing it 7% of the time.
We have seen a fair share of homegrown Nats starters string together good starts the last couple years. Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker both had stretches last year where they looked very impressive. However, they have struggled to build on that success.
I think Cavalli can be different. The big reason is simply that his stuff is better. Before his 2023 Tommy John Surgery, Cavalli was one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. The industry saw him as a potential front of the rotation arm.
Parker and Irvin, especially after the ladder’s velocity drop, are two guys with pedestrian stuff who have to rely on command and deception to get by. If they miss their spots, they get crushed. Cavalli can afford to miss a spot sometimes because he has a 100 MPH heater and a knockout curveball.
Seeing Cade succeed and perform at a high level is really a joy to watch. His Tommy John recovery was not smooth. It took a toll on the 27 year old both physically and mentally. However, it finally looks like all that hard work is paying off for Cavalli. You could see that emotion pouring out of him after he got that last out in the 7th.
We still need to see more to truly crown him, but he has looked phenomenal so far, especially given his rough spell in AAA. Thankfully, we will get plenty of chances to see Cade here down the stretch. Even if he comes back down to earth as a starter, his 100 MPH heat and knockout curveball, combined with his fiery mound presence could make him a great high leverage relief arm.
So far, Cade Cavalli has been such a pleasant surprise at the MLB level. He was written off after his injury woes and struggles in AAA this year. However, he is back and looks like he could be a big part of the Nats future once again. The moral of the story is that you can never give up on guys with nasty stuff.
