Washington Nationals’ Draft picks part of Instructs...

WASHINGTON – With no minor league season, the next best thing for the Nationals’ draft picks of 2020 was to be part of Instructional League this month in Florida.

And that has been the case for pitchers Cade Cavalli (first round), Cole Henry (second round), Holden Powell (third round), Mitchell Parker (fifth round), catcher Brady Lindsly (fourth), and infielder Samuel Infante, who was selected in the second round.

“With a limited look, I am impressed with all of these guys we got this year,” pitching coordinator Brad Holman told Federal Baseball this week from Florida of those four pitchers.

Holman was at the alternate site in Virginia this summer. He had a family wedding in Kansas to attend in early October, then arrived at West Palm Beach after some of the other instructors in the Washington system.

Parker, a lefty, made his Instructional League debut on Wednesday as he went two innings against the Marlins. Washington won 3-1 though the Nationals did not retire three batters in one of the innings – Holman explained that it is agreed upon by both teams that if a pitcher reaches a pitch limit the half-inning ends without three outs.

“He has some pitchability; he has got some uniqueness to his delivery with a little bit of a hook with his throwing hand,” Holman said of Parker, selected out of a junior college in Texas.

Another pitcher on Wednesday was Jackson Tetreault, a a seventh-round pick in 2017 out of junior college in Florida.

“I am excited to see him down the road,” Holman said. “He has a live arm; he is in the mid-90s. I was really impressed with his breaking ball.”