Cade Cavalli selected to All-Star Futures Game

One of the hottest pitchers in all of baseball resides in the Nationals farm system and is going to be in the national spotlight a couple of weeks from now during Major League Baseball's All-Star festivities, testing his talents with the best prospects the sport has to offer.

Cade Cavalli has been selected to represent the organization in the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. The announcement was made earlier Wednesday morning on MLB Network's "MLB Central."

Cavalli, 22, leads all of Minor League Baseball with 88 strikeouts this season, and ranks fourth in ERA (1.77), seventh in WHIP (0.89) and ninth in opponent batting average against (.171) across the minor leagues. Overall, he is 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA in nine starts between high Single-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg in his first full professional season.

The Nationals' first-round draft pick at No. 22 overall in 2020, Cavalli had to wait a year to make his professional debut after last year's minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, he did spend time with the major league club during last year's summer camp and then at the team's alternate training site in Fredericksburg for the latter part of the summer before moving to the fall instructional league at the facilities in West Palm Beach.

The right-hander then was a non-roster invitee to major league spring training in February and opened the 2021 season with Wilmington, where he went 3-1 with a 1.77 ERA and 77 strikeouts in seven starts. In his last start with the Blue Rocks, he struck out 15 batters in seven no-hit innings against the Phillies' Jersey Shore affiliate, earning him High-A East Pitcher of the Week honors and a promotion to Harrisburg on June 15.

In two starts with the Senators, Cavalli is 0-1 with a 3.09 ERA and 17 strikeouts.

Cavalli is currently the Nationals' top prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com and Baseball America, the latter of which also has him ranked as the No. 29 prospect in all of baseball.

The All-Star Futures Game will be played at 3 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, July 11 at Coors Field in Denver.