The Nationals are used to having a trio of young, promising outfielders in spring training. James Wood, Dylan Crews and Robert Hassell III drew a lot of attention during their first camp together last year. And this year, they are back in the major league clubhouse at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches, with Wood and Crews expected to make the Opening Day roster and Hassell due for his big league debut sometime this season.
But further down the row of lockers occupied by those now spring training regulars sits Andrew Pinckney, another young, promising outfielder getting his first taste of big league camp as a non-roster invitee and one of the Nats’ top prospects.
“I feel great. It's super cool,” Pinckney said. “You don't really expect to get the invite, you know? But I got it and I'm excited to be here. Just trying to see pitches well and trying to put my best swing on them. So yeah, I'm having a great time.”
Pinckney was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, selected three rounds after Crews, who was drafted No. 2 overall. The two were rivals in the SEC as Pinckney’s Alabama Crimson Tide watched Crews’ LSU Tigers win the national championship just weeks before the draft.
Now the two are sharing a clubhouse in West Palm Beach. And Pinckney is working to get to where Crews has already established himself: the major leagues.