Here are some things I saw in the first Spring Training game between the Nationals and the Astros
The Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-3 in their first Spring Training game of 2025. It was very exciting to see the team back in action and in the win column. After a long winter, baseball is finally back!
The most interesting part of the game for me was getting to see Jarlin Susana. I have not seen a ton of him live, so it was great to have an opportunity to see how he throws and how he operates on the mound. Everything about the monster right hander is explosive. Even without a radar gun, it was clear to see he was throwing absolute gas. This was backed up by reporters at the stadium, who said he was sitting at 101 MPH. He also uncorked a few devastating sliders.
Susana had a scoreless inning and struck out two. However, it was a bit of a mixed bag. His command was all over the place and he threw over 30 pitches. He is still a raw pitcher who has not perfected his mechanics yet. Susana is such a fun prospect because it is so easy to see the potential, but it is also easy for the average fan to spot what he needs to improve on.
As is often the case in Spring Training, the pitchers were ahead of the hitters. A lot of Nationals hitters looked uncomfortable, especially in their first at bats. Things picked up a bit the second time around. Dylan Crews blooped an RBI single into center in his second at bat. Josh Bell also hit a laser into the gap for a double. You could see the guys adjusting to live competition which was fun to see.
After the Astros came back to tie the ball game, Robert Hassell hit a clutch bases clearing double to make it 6-3. 2025 is a massive year for the former top prospect and it is good to see him start it off with a bang.
The Nats were very aggressive on the bases. I wrote about how they needed to be a bit more conservative on the bases, but evidently they did not listen. Jacob Young and Trey Lipscomb both stole bases. On the negative side, Alex Call got thrown out at home on an ill advised send.
The pitching was mostly excellent, with Jake Irvin and Jose A Ferrer looking particularly impressive. While it is only day 1 of spring training, goodness is it good to see baseball back. Buckle up, the 2025 season is right around the corner and will be a pivotal year. Welcome to the 20th season of Washington Nationals baseball.