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WASHINGTON – Outfielder J.T. Arruda hasn’t attracted much attention since he was drafted by the Nationals in 2019.
The Clovis, California product was taken in the 11th round out of Fresno State then hit .245 with no homers in 61 games for Auburn of the New York-Penn League.
He is one of the hundreds who missed out on a minor-league season – but now Arruda is trying to make up for lost time as part of the Instructional League roster in Florida.
Arruda “swung the bat well today,” co-field director in player development and Fairfax native Tommy Shields wrote to Federal Baseball after an intrasquad game on Thursday in West Palm Beach.
Arruda, who turned 23 on Oct. 20, did have 10 doubles and five triples in his first season in Auburn in 196 at-bats.
Pitchers for one team on Thursday were Tyler Dyson, Karlo Seijas and Jose Ferrer.
Dyson was taken in the fifth round out of the University of Florida in 2019.
The pitchers for the other squad were Bryan Sanchez, Mitchell Parker and Zachary Brzykcy, a Virginia Tech product. Parker was taken in the fifth round of the draft earlier this year out of a junior college in Texas.
Sanchez, 18, pitched in the Dominican Summer League in 2019.
The Nationals are slated to face the Marlins this weekend in their last game against another team.
The camp is slated to end on Tuesday, assistant general manager, player development Mark Scialabba told Federal Baseball.