At this point of the season, there is not a whole lot for Nationals fans to be excited about. The team we saw for the first few months of the season is now a distant memory. However, fans do get something to be fired up about once every fifth day when Cade Cavalli is on the mound.
A lot of what made the Nats fun has vanished, but Cavalli is just getting better and better. He is just building up steam as the season goes along, which is so comforting to see. Many of the Nats best players tend to run
out of steam when August comes around, but Cavalli is only improving.
Since the All-Star break, Cavalli is 7-1 with a 1.95 ERA in 10 starts. He has struck out 75 hitters and only walked 14 in those 60 innings. This has been by far the best thing to happen to the Nats in the last couple months. Cade Cavalli is turning the corner and becoming an ace.
With the rest of the pitching staff being subpar, it makes you appreciate Cavalli even more. It is so obvious that he has the goods. The ball just jumps out of his hand differently. It is not just the velocity though. The feel for his breaking stuff and the command also stand out. He just makes hitters uncomfortable and stressed in a way nobody else on this staff can.
Despite averaging around 97 MPH, Cavalli’s breaking balls are the true difference makers. Heading into the season, we knew about his curveball. Even last year, it had a unique combination of velocity and true curveball movement. However, he added a sweeper this offseason and as he has gotten more comfortable with the pitch, it has taken his game to the next level.
At 86.4 MPH, his sweeper is nearly 3 ticks harder than the average one. It is a unique pitch, as it gets depth like a curveball but also moves away from hitters. The results have been devastating. Batters are hitting just .108 against the sweeper with a 35.9% whiff rate. It is a similar story with his curveball which has a .193 average against and a 38.9% whiff rate.
Simon Mathews has come under fire this year, and some of the criticism is deserved. However, he has done a really nice job with Cavalli. He is getting better as the year is going on and picking up new tricks. These power curves and sweepers have had a lot of success league wide this season and Cavalli is right in the middle of that movement.
He is throwing more of these breaking balls as the season goes on and throwing them harder. In August, the curve averaged 87.5 MPH and the sweeper was 87.2. We saw those weapons on full display in his dominant start against the Cubs, the best offense in the league. They just had no answers for his power stuff.
With these changes, along with improved command, Cavalli is now a bonafide stud. Even when he struggles early in games like he did in LA, you feel confident that he will find a way to right the ship. His first inning that start was a 30 pitch, 2 run disaster. However, he still found a way to go 6 innings with 8 strikeouts, only allowing those two runs.
Cavalli has also become a true workhorse down the stretch. He has gone at least 6 innings in 12 of his last 14 starts. It would have been 13 if he did not get hit in the leg by a comebacker in his outing against the Marlins.
With this dominant run, Cavalli’s season stats are very impressive. For the year, he is 12-5 with a 3.12 ERA in 158.2 innings with 185 strikeouts. As we close out this season, Cavalli has a couple milestones he is closing in on. With a few more strong outings, he should reach 200 strikeouts and around 175 innings.
That is such an impressive season for a player in his first full big league campaign. With all the injury troubles he has had, the durability might be the most impressive part. Cavalli is not only handling a full workload, he is getting better as he logs more innings. Even as this season has gone off the rails, the development of Cavalli has been beautiful to watch.
He has also allowed 3 or fewer runs in 28 of his 30 starts this season. That is the best mark in the whole league. Part of that is due to him having a shorter leash earlier in the season. However, it is also a testament to the pure dominance he has shown lately.
Tonight, Cavalli faces the Angels and looks to help the Nats snap a 7 game losing streak. It has been a dark 6 weeks for this team, but Cavalli has proven to be a ray of sunshine. Cade Day is always must see TV, even as the rest of the team struggles mightily. We have not had a pitcher like this since Max Scherzer. Now that we do, I love seeing what a true top of the rotation guy looks like.
