Hitters impressed with Ogasawara's repertoire; Gore to start Grapefruit League opener

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Day two of live batting practice at Nationals camp saw several returning pitchers on the mound facing teammates. It also saw one especially notable newcomer who drew tons of extra attention.

Shinnosuke Ogasawara had a large crowd assembled on Field 3 behind the plate, in the dugouts and behind the fences, with everyone from club officials to teammates to media members to fans wanting to get a first look at the Japanese left-hander as he faced major league hitters for the first time.

Ogasawara faced an experienced group of position players including Josh Bell, Luis García Jr., Paul DeJong and Amed Rosario. There was some contact off him, but there were plenty of uncomfortable swings from hitters who were thrown off by the 27-year-old’s repertoire and hesitation delivery.

Garcia was impressed when he returned to the dugout, noting Ogasawara has not only a good changeup and slow curveball but also a sneaky fastball. That ability to change speeds and make everything look the same coming out of his hand could prove to be a challenge for big league batters.

“His arm action, it looks just like a fastball coming in,” manager Davey Martinez said of the changeup in particular. “The thing we talked with him is: If he throws it over the plate – it doesn’t have to be east-to-west as we always talk about – it’s really, really good. There’s a whole lot of swings, not very good swings, as we saw today. But he’s got to understand that he needs to be over the plate with it, down.”

Ogasawara said he felt good about the session as a whole – “Nothing happened crazy,” he said, via interpreter Jumpei Ohashi – but he admitted major league hitters do make harder contact than the Japanese hitters he’s faced the last nine seasons.

He’ll try to use his varied timing techniques, especially that pause as he pulls up his right knee before throwing the pitch, to keep hitters off balance and avoid that loud contact as much as possible.

The Nationals are still working with Ogasawara on developing a new between-starts routine. He told Martinez he typically runs a 10K the day after he pitches, followed by a 7K the next day and a 5K the day after that. Martinez laughed and explained that may need to be pared down now that he’s on a five-day pitching schedule instead of the seven-day schedule that’s the norm back home.

“The only thing that’s going to take him a little bit of time is the routine, but he’s willing to put in the work,” Martinez said. “He’s willing to do everything we ask him to do, which is awesome.”

* In addition to Ogasawara, seven other pitchers threw live batting practice today: Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, Jackson Rutledge, Jorge López, Jack Sinclair, Daison Acosta, Brad Lord. The two members of that workout group who didn’t throw off the mound were Mason Thompson and Colin Poche.

Thompson, who is nearing his return from Tommy John surgery, has been held back from full throwing until later in camp. Poche, however, was initially supposed to throw today but was sidelined due to a recent illness.

“He was sick,” Martinez said of the former Rays lefty, who is likely to make the Opening Day bullpen. “He wanted to throw today, but we pushed him back. If he’s feeling better tomorrow, he’ll throw a live BP tomorrow.”

The Nationals are holding back setup man Derek Law, having him wait until later in the spring to begin facing hitters in an effort to conserve some energy for what should be a heavy workload during the season. Poche, who has averaged 56 appearances in each of his four major league seasons, is not quite on the same plan, but Martinez did admit they might need to restrict his spring usage some for similar reasons.

* MacKenzie Gore will get the ball for Saturday’s Grapefruit League opener against the Astros. Martinez wasn’t ready to announce any other pitching plans yet, including the identity of his Opening Day starter. Gore and Irvin figure to be the most likely candidates for that assignment.

* Any chance of a reunion with Jacob Barnes was lost today when the veteran reliever signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays. Barnes, who went 8-3 with a 4.36 ERA in 63 games last season, was on the Nationals’ radar for a potential return but wound up taking Toronto’s offer. The team continues to be in the market for at least one, potentially two, more experienced relievers.