Washington Nationals Opt for Current Cubs Star Prospect in 2020 MLB Redraft
The Washington Nationals selected a young pitcher in the 2020 MLB draft.
While he is progressing at a fine rate, they might go in a different direction if given another chance today.
That's the scenario Baseball America explored in their redraft of that year, which saw the Nationals select Canadian outfielder Owen Caissie at No. 22 instead of Cade Cavalli, their original pick.
Caissie was an incredibly young player back in the 2020 draft when he was selected in the second round by the San Diego Padres.
Cavalli was drafted out of college and still has only made one career appearance in the Majors.
As of right now, Caissie would certainly have been a better pick.
The 22-year-old outfielder is currently the No. 2 player in the Chicago Cubs farm system, and the No. 34 prospect in all of baseball.
He should be making his MLB debut soon, coming off of a couple of very productive seasons in the minors.
The slugger spent all of 2024 at the Triple-A level where he posted a .278/.375/.473 slash line with 19 home runs and 11 stolen bases.
His best trait out of the draft was his home run power, which has translated well. His baserunning has also been a bit of a surprise, only adding another weapon to his now-elite profile.
Caissie is not known for his speed, so it is his cannon of an arm that helps him at least be a solid defender in right field.
Washington is certainly not in need of help in the outfield, especially with young talent, but adding Caissie to the already promising core would put them over the edge.
Instead, they have Cavalli, who is hoping to finally break into the MLB rotation.
The 26-year-old made his debut back in 2022, but gave up seven runs over 4.1 innings in his only appearance.
He had to undergo Tommy John surgery in Spring Training of the 2023 season, which kept him out for all of that year and most of 2024.
The Nationals gave him a couple of short rehab assignments where he posted a 2.16 ERA over 8.1 innings of work. When healthy, he is still a very promising pitcher, so it is hard to hold an unlucky injury too hard against him.
Cavalli has a career 3.46 ERA with 11.5 K/9 in the minor leagues. If he can contribute in 2025, he could join an already young and intriguing starting rotation.
He will both need to stay on the mound and still has some command issues that are worth monitoring.
