HISTORY: Andrew Alvarez Makes History For The Washington Nationals In His MLB Debut

HISTORY: Andrew Alvarez Makes History For The Washington Nationals In His MLB Debut

Washington Nationals lefty Andrew Alvarez makes Nat’s history in his MLB debut and also has made it interesting for the Nationals rotation down the stretch. Should they go to a six-man rotation? We’ll see. [Music] You are Locked on Nationals, your daily Washington Nationals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Thank you all for making Locked on Nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And yes, I’m your host Ryan Clair. You can catch me over on Twitter, Ryan Clary1. And yes, we are part of the Locked On podcast network where it’s your team every single day. And later on in today’s show, it is a Cade Kavali day as the Nationals try to win the series against the Marlins. You’ve got a good opportunity with Cade Kavali on the bump today. We’ll have that preview later on in today’s program. And in the second segment, Dalon Lyle continues his hot stretch from really August 1st all the way through September 1st yesterday. Let’s talk about that because not only is this guy just having a fun summer, he’s a building block for the future. I’ll have that discussion for you later on in the show today. But we start off discussing the historic debut for the Washington Nationals as Andrew Alvarez made history for your Washington Nationals organization. But today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel and football season is around the corner. Visit the FanDuel app today and start planning your future bets now. So, Andrew Alvarez makes nationals history in his first start as a Washington National five strong innings. And the history books will always say that the first Washington Nationals to make their debut and go five plus innings pitched with zero runs given up is going to be Andrew Alvarez for the rest of the Washington Nationals tenure here. What a performance by Andrew Alvarez. And yesterday’s show, I went in discussing about how expectations should be low and that, you know, we’re going up against a pretty solid Miami Marlins team. And again, Andrew Alvarez is not really on anyone’s radar at this point. He’s not on the top 30 prospects list. He has won organizational pitcher of the year before, but still the expectation should be low for the 26 year old. Well, he told me to shut up and he went five innings pitched, gave up one one hit, took a no hitter into that fifth inning, by the way, and struck out four batters and only walked two. You cannot get better than what Andrew Alvarez did yesterday. 81 pitches overall yesterday, 44 strikes. Didn’t even have his best command yesterday. still only walked two batters and struck out four batters. Andrew Alvarez was so impressive in the game yesterday. Again, something that I was not really aware of at this point was the stuff that he threw. What I found really interesting from yesterday’s game is that he threw his slider 33% of the time, more than his fast ball and more than his curveball. That I’ve heard a lot about his curveball at least so far. And he also mixed in a sinker and a change up in there. But what was so impressive was again the location of the slider was there. Throwing it 33% of the time. He threw his slider about probably 50% of the time for strikes overall and generated a lot of swings and misses off that as well. But one thing I wanted to point out here with Andrew Alvarez is that this wasn’t just like that lucky start. You know, this wasn’t one of those things where it’s momentum kind of carrying him. He was not getting any hard contact at all against him. In fact, the hardest hit ball came in the fifth inning where he had a 97.8 mile per hour exit vo. That’s pretty good. And yes, was it part of the Miami Marlins and their struggles as of recent with the offense? Maybe. But also, I choose to believe that Andrew Alvarez just had himself a day. and seeing that battery connection with CJ Subs who also made his major league debut yesterday and unfortunately went 0 for three in yesterday’s game. But he looked really good as well. I thought yesterday was just one of those feel-good games where I think a lot of us in this scenario felt really good. Later on here, we’re going to get into a six-man rotation discussion here, but more on yesterday’s game that I want to talk about here real quick. Clayton Beater. Clayton Beater has settled in really nicely in the back end of this Nationals bullpen. When you trade him for a Med Rosario, first off, my first thought was, well, this guy used to be a former legit big-time prospect with the Yankees and as well with the Dodgers. And over his last seven appearances with the Nationals, he has given up zero runs. He has struck out eight batters. He has pitched six and two/3 innings pitch and again zero runs over his last 14 appearances. He has a 284 erra, only four earned runs, three hits given up in 12 and two/3 innings pitched with a whip that is sub one at this point. Clayton Beater and this Nationals bullpen right now, they’re on a heater. I mean, the Nationals bullpen entering this season, we were seriously talking about one of the worst starts for a bullpen in MLB history. And right now, the way that this bullpen has been playing over the past few weeks, it has been a night and day difference compared to what we were talking about earlier on this spring compared to what we are talking about now. The Nationals are getting strikeouts. They are having clean saves thanks to Jos Fra who as well has settled in real nicely for the Nationals. He got his fifth save in the season yesterday. Struck out of batter, did walk someone, but Jose Fra, this is kind of the dream scenario for the Nationals at this point. Jose Frera was always supposed to be the closer for the Nationals in my opinion. And I do believe that I think in his heart of hearts that he probably believed that he was going to be the closer this season at some point. And the Nationals resign Kyle Finnegan. He comes in and he’s going to be the closer. He was the closer moving forward. But the 25-year-old Jose Frer is the future of your bullpen in my opinion right now after starting off the season really inconsistently. If you look over the past few starts here, or not few starts, this past even 30 appearances for the Nationals, he has been really good. And yes, there have been some blown saves in there, but when you’re a 25-year-old closer in baseball, that’s going to happen. But kudos to Miguel Cairo and Mike Dearlo, whoever has kind of appointed him as the closer because he has looked really good in this role. Again, large sample size success here. Over his last 15 appearances, he has 13 hits given up and 17 strikeouts in 17 and a third innings pitch. Further more than that, over his last 30 appearances, he has 32 and two/3 innings pitch with 28 strikeouts and a 107 whip with a 276 CRA. Jose Fra has put himself in a conversation to be the Nationals closer moving forward. And I think that’s a big deal for the Nats right now because the month of September, you got to figure out your future. You have to figure out what you have with Clayton Beater. You feel like you have figured out what you have with Jose Frera at this point. I’ve always felt good about his future with the Nationals. And I think a lot of Nats fans have felt pretty good about that as well. But now, let’s talk about this because I did say we would talk about a six-man rotation. And I’ll be the first one to say this has to happen. When McKenzie Gore comes off the IIL, the Nationals need to work this way in because again, you have to protect McKenzie Gore at all costs. And then number two, you have to protect Kate Kavali who makes his start tonight at all costs. You’ve got some prominent young guys on this rotation who have had some injuries in the past. Jake Irvin has had Tommy John. McKenzie Gore has had some shoulder issues in years past. Cade Kavali is coming off Tommy John in 2023. Like again, these are not small injuries. So if you are going to kind of go to the six-man rotation, Andrew Alvarez just made his case yesterday. Again, one of the most impressive debuts since Steven Strawber back in 2010 was from the Washington Nationals, Andrew Alvarez, a 12th round pick out of the 2021 MLB draft. Again, not the most impressive numbers down in Triple A, but he came in yesterday and he looked great. So, if I’m Miguel Cairo and if I’m Mike Dearlo and I’m meeting in my office today, number one, Andrew Alred is going to be getting another starter, too. I think we all know that with the timeline of McKenzie Gore at this point, not ready to be back until sometime in midepptember in a few weeks. But Andrew Alvarez has earned an opportunity to be in this rotation just based off what I saw yesterday. You have no one down in the miners that you can kind of really lean on and say, “Well, you could be a starter.” There’s no one. If it was going to be anybody, it would have been Andrew Alparez. And the things that he showed me in yesterday’s game, in my opinion, goes to show me that this guy belongs in this rotation for the duration of this season. Go to that six-man rotation if slash when McKenzie Gore is back. Space out your starters and hopefully things start to look up from here on out and we can get a good look what Andrew Alvarez could be down the line for the Washington Nationals. And even then, if you want to option someone, the option would be Mitchell Parker at this point. So, Andrew Alvarez proved a lot to me yesterday. It was really cool to see him make history on Labor Day, a day game. He looked awesome. That was really cool to see Andrew Alvarez go out there and dominate the way that he did. So, thank you all for making lockdown nets your first listen. Next, let’s talk about this Dalon Lyle. We don’t talk about him too much. He’s not the flashiest name in the world, but he should be on your radar because this guy is not just some guy who’s going to be disappearing after the season. He belongs in the majors and he belongs in your starting lineup. We’ll discuss that after this. This episode is brought to you by Prize Picks, the daily fantasy app where making the right call can actually pay off. You and I make decisions every day, but on prize picks, being right means cashing in. 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And thank you all for making Lockdown Nationals your first lesson every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. So let’s talk about Dalen Lyle and why he belongs with the Washington Nationals. And this is not just some lucky stint. By the way, this guy is a real player. But there is a little bit of an issue that we’ll get into as well. But before that, we have an important request. Locked on wants to hear from you and we put together a survey to learn more about our listeners and make your favorite podcasts even better. And this is your chance to tell us what you like, what you don’t, and answer questions about our advertising. So go to lockedonpodcast.com/servey to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of 10 $100 Amazon gift cards. Again, that’s lockedpodcast.com/servey. You can also find the link in the show notes. thanks for helping us out. So, let’s talk about Dalen Lyle here because you know the talking surrounding Dalen Lyle, it’s kind of weird. Some people think that he is not really a part of this future, but some people think that he is going to be a star. Why don’t we meet each other in the middle? I think Denon Lyle is part of this future just as a great role player kind of guy. You need those on your team. I think of like an Adam Eaton type for the Washington Nationals. And that’s kind of what I see with Dalem L. Someone who is probably not as good as Adam Eaton defensively, which we’ll discuss later on, but someone who does have the upside offensively the way that Adam Eaton did. I think Dalon Wild could be very similar with that except a little bit more power offensively. Since August 1st, he has batted 309 with a 364 on on base percentage, a 444 slug. That is an 804 OPS. Batting north of 300 with an OPS north of 800 and your slugs right around 450, you will take that for a right fielder any single day. And I think that right now his offense is probably not even as good as what it could be down the line. I think that he is going to be able to hit for average like a consistent 280. I think he will be able to finally tap into some power here and even then he only has three home runs this season. I think he could easily hit north of 10 to 15, maybe even 20 possibly down the road. For whatever reason, the discourse surrounding Dale Mile has been really interesting for the Nationals. This is a building block and this is someone who should be a part of this future. And right now with where the Nationals stand, you have got a loaded outfield room. James Wood and Dylan Cruz, lock them in. They’re a big part of your future as of now. And then that third spot gets a little messy. It’s Dalon Lyle. It’s Robert Hassel the third. Then you also have guys like Christian Franklin who we want to get looks at who’s down in TripleA who they just traded for in that big Cubs trade. You also got a couple other guys coming down the line like Christian Baker in a few years. You’ve got a couple others down there as well like an Andrew Pinkney who has been really good at the AAA level this season. You have got a loaded outfield room and you want to take looks at all of those guys. Right now, the Nationals are probably going to have to move off of either one or maybe even two of those guys for next season. Now, if I’m the Nationals, I want to keep my prospects in tight in this building. I am not trading away veteran or not veteran outfielders. I’m not trading away prospect outfielders that you think might be something for your team down the line just for some veteran help. But in this scenario with where you are today, you are hindering the ceiling of a Robert Hassel, you are holding back the ceiling of maybe a Christian Franklin or an Andrew Pinkney. Something is going to have to happen this off season because in my humbled opinion, if I were to pick my three starting outfielders going forward, it would be Dalon Lyall, except I’d put him in left field. Then it would be James Wood, and then it would be Dylan Cruz. Jacob Young is in that equation as well. I think you all know how I feel. He’s my fourth outfielder. That’s the way that he should be. But Don Lyle, again, I need to hone in on this and say that this guy is going to be a part of your future. He is going to be hopefully on that next postseason team whenever that comes in the next few seasons. That’s kind of laugh there, which is a little sad, but it’s true. I like where we’re at. And again, this is a development success in my opinion for the Nationals. And even then, forget the August numbers. Look at the overall numbers of where he stands today. Having a 7-Eleven OPS, batting 264, a 313 OBP. He’s got 61 hits across 231 at bats. He has been a good winning ball player. Now, here’s where he’s going to have to improve in a big way. It’s his defense. For whatever reason, I was not aware of the defensive struggles with Dale Mile. He does not look too natural in right field. I’d be really interested to see how he plays in left field. And of course, we said the same thing about James Wood last year. In left field, James Wood looked absolutely lost out there. Like seriously, routine plays were not routine with James Wood. It did not look natural whatsoever. But with Dalon Lyle, I want people to kind of learn from James Wood because James Wood now is actually a pretty elite left fielder. That’s what all the stats say. That’s all the analytics say. Give Don Lyle some time. A good athlete the way that Don Ly is with the speed, the twitchiness, a solid arm. I’m willing to give a guy like him some work and kind of give him a little bit of leash there and let him run around. I think that he will be able to figure that out down the road. And again, that’s going to have to come eventually because his defense is really bad. He has made some solid plays here and there, but overall, it’s been a bad product in right field. Is he just not a right fielder? Maybe you stick him in left. I don’t know. That might be an option for you. Maybe you put James Wood back kind of as home position in right field or in center field. Maybe you put Dylan Cruz in right field and then that leaves Dale Mile in left field. But right now, I know this defensively is going to have to get better. But I do think there are a lot of ways that he can grow defensively. I think his arm plays overall, number one, but number two, his range is there as well. It’s just about making the routine plays, keeping the ball in front of him, doing the simple things correctly. You don’t have to be Superman out there. I think he knows that. But I would just want to say this. The discourse surrounding Dale Ly at this point has kind of been confusing for a lot of Nationals fans out there. And if you don’t follow the Nationals too heavy, I’ll be the one to say it. He is a part of this Nationals future. He, in my opinion, is part of the starting nine moving forward, and that’s the way that it should be. He has been super impressive. And again, his bat is going to play at whatever level he is at. And thank you all for making lock on nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. Next, let’s talk about this. It is a Cade Kabali day, which means it’s a good day to be a Nationals fan. So, let’s talk about that and preview today’s game. 6:45 first pitch tonight. at Nationals Park. Looks to be a beautiful day yet again. So, let’s talk about Kade Kavali and will last starts kind of return. I’ve got an issue that I think I solved out with Katie Kali. I’ll tell you after this. 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Happy Kade Kavali day to all who celebrate and to all who celebrate Kade Kavali, I celebrate you. So Kade Kavali makes his what is this now? His sixth start of the season for the Washington Nationals. And through his first four starts, he looked incredible for the Washington Nationals. Looked really, really good over again his first six starts. His debut against the A’s, that was an awesome debut. one of the better ones in quite some time. And then he went against the Phillies two starts later, went seven innings pitched with no earned runs, striking out five and only walking zero in that start. This last time around against New York Yankees was a tough start. Two and a third innings pitched, seven earned runs, four home runs given up, only struck out four batters in that time frame and did add another walk in there. But I’ve got some good news. He was tipping his pitches. Now Kevin Franson mentioned it on the broadcast and I remember kind of sitting there thinking, well, is he tipping pitches? Like because again, a lot of people just kind of throw that out there if someone has a bad start. Well, I just did it myself. I looked back looked back at a start and it certainly seemed as if he was tipping his pitches. Let me explain real quick for those of you who may not get it. Tipping your pitches is literally just like your glove movement or maybe the way your shoulders are aligned may indicate what pitch that you are throwing. Something that is very common is the way that like your shoulders are if you’re about to throw a breaking ball pitch. For instance, sometimes a lot of guys their shoulders kind of tend to go open earlier on their in their spin around to chuck it down to home plate. Kate Kavali was doing exactly that against the New York Yankees. Now, maybe that’s just me, but it certainly felt like that was the case there. And watching it, his shoulders did kind of open up a little bit more as he was getting that torque out. And I think that is simply why he got absolutely tattooed against the Yankees. It is tough to get beaten up the way that he did in that start and kind of bounce back from it. But I’m pretty sure that Jim Hickey and Shawn Doul have probably met with him. They probably looked over the film and said, “Listen, man. You’re tipping your pitches.” And in my opinion, that became pretty blatantly obvious. And that unfortunately has totally ballooned his RA. Because if you’re just following along here and you don’t know Cade Kabali, you probably look at his RA and you’re like, “A 5’11 RA in five starts? Yesesh, this guy stinks.” Not the case at all. He was tipping his pitches. I think that was a one-off. And also, when you’re tipping your pitches, going against a very lefty loaded lineup like the New York Yankees, that’s going to cause a lot of issues. Obviously, he gave up four home runs there. He was tipping his pitches. It was clear as day in my opinion. So, let’s flush that start down the toilet. And now, let’s look to the Miami Marlins today for Kade Kavali. I like this matchup for him because again, the Miami Marlins number one, they have yet to face Kade Kavali. Obviously, as a whole, zero at bats against him up in the major league level. So, that’s obviously a good thing because Kate Kvali, he’s got that knuckle curve that comes from 12, ends up in the six spot. That is going to get a ton of swings and misses tonight. If he does get hit on early on this game, then again, tipping his pitches. That happens. That could easily happen again tonight. But with the way that the Marlins been swinging the bats, which they have not been, they have been really bad offensively as of late, I could see Kade Kavali having a big night tonight for your Washington Nationals and ultimately getting a big win because again, the Nationals, you really have nothing to play for. And for those out there who want to tank, you can’t tank. You literally cannot tank. The Nationals cannot pick inside the top 10 of this year’s draft again. So tanking is not going to happen in my opinion. You are the third worst team in all of baseball. You’re a bottom three team. You are a bottom dweller as Ken Rosenthal said. Win some games. What you can do right now and honestly like I’m pro tanking like for the Nationals next year. If by May they clearly don’t have it, I’m like okay well let’s restart and let’s tank and hopefully get a good pick. But right now at the Nationals, you got to try to win games. And again, obviously they are. They’re professionals. They’re going to go out there. They’re going to try to win every other day. But with a Cade Kavali day, don’t tip your pitches, man. Go up against there, have your A stuff, and let’s get us a good win against the Marlins. And ultimately a series win as well because while they might may not be as in it as that what they were a few weeks ago, they’re certainly trying to pry their way back in. And it’d be nice to play spoiler for those Miami Marlins. So, thank you all for making locked on Nats your first listen. I will catch you guys on the flip side. Have a good one. Go Nats.

Andrew Alvarez SHOVED in his first MLB start with the Nats carrying a no hitter into the 5th inning against the floundering Marlins. Ryan discusses Andrew Alvarez’s name in the history books, and gets into the impressive bullpen performance as of late thanks to Clayton Beeter and Jose Ferrer. Daylen Lile continues his hot stretch as he has been on fire since August 1st, and everyone needs to know that this guy is LEGIT. We also get into Cade Cavalli making his 6th start tonight, and Ryan has an interesting observation he picked up from his past start.

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