Jakson Reetz Makes Strides At The Plate

With strong showings as a non-roster invitee this spring and in the second half of the 2019 season, catcher Jakson Reetz earned a spot in the Nationals’ 60-player pool and a trip to the team’s alternate training site.

“I’m very fortunate to be in Fredericksburg (Va.) right now, being able to play baseball,” the 24-year-old Reetz said. “Just being able to hang out with my teammates again has been great.”

The 6-foot, 205-pound backstop has worked with a group of 15-18 pitching prospects and continued to make strides at the plate in the spring. In three spring training games, he finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.

At what was formerly high Class A Potomac last season, Reetz hit .282/.378/.563 with 12 home runs in 174 at-bats after the all-star break. It was a stark contrast to the first half, when he hit just .220/.362/.300 with one homer in 150 at-bats.

“I raised my hands a little bit, and that helped me get to the ball quicker and stop missing as many pitches,” Reetz said.

Reetz was promoted to Double-A Harrisburg for the postseason. He went 1-for-6 with two walks in two Eastern League playoff games before hitting .333/.455/.519 in 27 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League.

“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” said Tripp Keister, who managed Reetz in each of the past two seasons. “He never wavered in his work ethic, even when he wasn’t getting the results I knew he was capable of.”

That diligence helped earn Reetz the organization’s Bob Boone Award last year for his approach to the game.

Reetz was a 2014 third-round pick from Norris High in Firth, Neb. He signed for $800,000 instead of attending Nebraska, where his father Andy played linebacker. Jakson played baseball, football and basketball in high school, and he and his three brothers all enjoy playing sports more than watching them.

“I just love to compete,” Reetz said. “Playing all three sports are some of the best times I’ve had, and it’s all helped me with baseball.”

 

 

CAPITAL GAINS

— Righthander Cade Cavalli, the club’s 2020 first-round pick from Oklahoma, started his professional career at the team’s alternate training site. Farm director Mark Scialabba said that Cavalli “has made an incredible first impression, and we’re thrilled that he’s a National. A great job by (vice president of scouting) Kris Kline and all of our amateur scouts with that selection.”

— Kyle Finnegan, a 28-year-old righthanded reliever, was the only player without previous major league experience to make the Nationals’ 30-man Opening Day roster. Finnegan was a 2013 sixth-round pick by the Athletics out of Texas State. After seven seasons in the Oakland system, he signed a major league deal with Washington last December.