Warning that his last outing was the worst game of his 2025 campaign – with seven runs in three innings against the Syracuse Mets – Cade Cavalli appears ready to return to the majors. Once he does, Washington Nationals fans will see a different look than the pitcher who made his last (and only) appearance in the Grand Slam on August 28, 2022. Cavalli initially landed on a shelf with shoulder inflammation, blowing up Tommy John’s surgery. 63 is 50 fv in our top 100. (Cavalli will allocate 45 fv on our upcoming national list.)
His recovery is long and difficult. After all missing in 2023, Cavalli only showed up a year ago, no higher than A, he went through the dead arm phase this spring and did not occupy the mound until mid-April. He has often become firm since then. Although his 10-plus era started at 5.27 from Triple Rochester, the 26-year-old has gone through five or more innings while allowing two or fewer runs four times.
When we re-meeted last month – I first interviewed him while he was at Double-A in July 2021 – Cavalli explained how he deviated from his pre-operative days.
“We’ve changed my four slits,” Cavalli told me. “Instead of chasing through some numbers vertically, we’re back to where my natural hand path is, which is a casing position. I’m riding now, and before riding, my arm sides are getting more and more.
When asked if riding adds inappropriate pressure to his arm, the 22nd pick at the University of Oklahoma 2020 draft answered in affirmatively.
“To be precise,” the former once answered. “We wanted my arms to do their own things naturally, and now I’m not overdoing the fastball trying to get the numbers I want, but I’m not that inconsistent. I’m also recovering better.”
Cavalli told me that his average vertical break is about 13 to 14 inches, breaking through 1 to 3 inches horizontally, and in the past, it “from 14 to 17 Verts, there are 9 to 11 horizontal arm sides.” He likens the remodeled heater to a baby cutter.
Eric Longenhagen watched Cavalli’s start – six innings, two runs – on June 20 in the Lehigh Valley – without overzeal. Our leading prospect analysts observed a fastball of 95 mph and rose at a speed of 99, but “its speed is lower than its speed due to lack of movement and shocking angles.”
Movement differences stimulated the increase in Cavalli’s arsenal. Now his four-man assistant takes some cutting moves, he introduces a two-person shoe and gives him a fastball that goes in different directions.
“There are some shapes that may change throughout the season, but now it’s about 9 to 11 verts – 11 above the zero line – we’re going to get a level of 15 to 17,” Cavalli said of the new weapon. “It’s not a sinking piece; it’s more like a two-slit cut. On the antenna side, I’m 95-97, the same as my four.”
The Tulsa native is also mixing his fastball speed. Instead of simply going back and pumping the gasoline, he took a more nuanced approach.
“I’ve been adding and subtracting fastballs, not going all out,” Cavalli said. “It feels like I’m pitching right now.
Not surprisingly, Cavalli didn’t make it in these minor latter.
“It’s not a change in kicking, but I’m in a tilted position,” he explained. “My grip is, the way it falls off my hands, it grabs the air and goes to the other way; it’s on the side of the arm, not the cut. It’s basically seam-changed.
“I used to turn over and it’s good, but I’m sitting on it a lot, and it’s my arm naturally doesn’t want to do it,” Cavalli added. “I’m not sure it’s going to cause pressure on my elbow, but it’s better for me just to have it in that cannula position and take it off my middle finger.”
Longenhagen saw a change that showed that “the bat’s ability to miss, combined with his vertical curve ball, can attack left-handed with two weapons”.
Cavalli’s hook is a grip with a spike, a hammer. He was grateful that Tommy John didn’t change that.
“After the surgery, you always want to know, ‘Will my stuff be the same? I’ll feel the same thing.” “When I come back and start throwing curveballs, they feel natural. It’s the same shape and I was able to throw it anywhere from the range of 83-86 mph, just like I did before the surgery. ”
Longenhagen described a curve ball that “had a lot of depth on its efforts” and the young Hurler’s performance on the court highlighted the reason. He said it “is about -14 vert, -8 to 10 levels. It’s a power curve.
That said, Cavalli’s psychological approach to returning to the major leagues is just to grab it and tear it apart. Although he is trying to focus on the present, his first round of blood and performing on the highest stage of baseball remains his top priority.
“Looking forward is easy to do, especially when you get close to there,” Cavalli said. “Instead of doing this, I will continue to focus on the present – doing my best to help the team in Rochester – and doing my business the way I do.
“I believe everything will take care of myself,” he continued. “I’ve been working hard to help major league-level clubs all my life, and it’s something I don’t let my brain avoid. I love visualizing these things and putting myself on that Washington National Hill. I see myself there, so when I come back, I’ve been back there, I’ve been there thousands of times.
