This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

There was a time when all the hurlers who reported to Major League camp this week were hopefuls impacted by watching big league pitchers. So I wondered, as they pursued their baseball aspirations, which Major Leaguers inspired them the most?

RHP Josiah Gray, 26: “I would say CC Sabathia. Growing up a Yankees fan, it was like every time you turned on a game, he was pitching and it seemed like he was shoving. I just really enjoyed watching him. Then, as I got later into high school, early college, it was Marcus Stroman. Obviously, a lot of similarities: New York, dual-position guy. I would say those two right off the bat.”

RHP Cole Henry, 24 (No. 18 prospect): “Tim Hudson. He’s from my hometown [Phenix City, Ala.]. I grew up watching him, my family watched him, we all cheered for him and I always looked up to him. Seeing a guy from my hometown be really successful was cool. He used to have baseball camps in our hometown, and I used to go to them. I was really little, I would get to meet him and he would sign cards and stuff for everybody.”

RHP Joan Adon, 25: “Pedro Martinez. For me, he has been one of the best in the Major Leagues, and even more so, he comes from the Dominican Republic. Almost all of us guys who play baseball there as pitchers, he is an example for us to follow.”

LHP Robert Garcia, 27: “I grew up a Giants fan. For me, watching Madison Bumgarner was a cool thing. Being a lefty, I liked his competitiveness and willingness to win and take the ball every day.”

RHP Dylan Floro, 33: “I never really watched a whole lot [of baseball] … I guess if you had to say somebody, because I’m goofy myself pitching-wise, [Tim] Lincecum in that sort of sense, because he’s a goofier kind of pitcher, kind of like me. … We have different mechanics [than other pitchers].”

RHP Amos Willingham, 25: “I grew up in the Braves heyday when they had [Tom] Glavine, [John] Smoltz, [Greg] Maddux. So I would probably say Smoltz out of those three, because he was right-handed, he was throwing hard. That’s who I wanted to be.”

RHP Zach Brzykcy, 24 (No. 29 prospect): “Randy Johnson -- I just loved how dominant he was, a power pitcher. On the flipside, Roger Clemens -- also a power pitcher, just dominated where he was at. I always grew up watching those two. Then relief pitcher Mariano Rivera. Can’t beat him, one of the best ever.”

RHP Thaddeus Ward, 27: “He was before my time, but Nolan Ryan. My dad was a huge, huge Nolan Ryan fan, and we have autographed pictures of Nolan Ryan in the house. My dad was also a big Tom House fan, so my dad taught me how to pitch using Tom House’s books.”

RHP Richard Bleier, 36: “Growing up a Marlins fan, I watched Dontrelle Willis a lot. With the delivery and everything, I was definitely a kid that tried to emulate that movement. He was very dominant in his Marlins years, so I think that he was the one that I was looking up to the most.”

LHP Mitchell Parker, 24 (No. 26 prospect): “Growing up, my entire family was Yankees fans, so I’m going to have to either go with CC [Sabathia] or Andy Pettitte. My parents had a bunch of jerseys for them, and my dad met both of them. He said they were great guys.”

LHP Jose A. Ferrer, 23: “My favorite pitcher was Pedro Martinez -- the numbers that he posted, the attitude to the plate, the aggressiveness.”

RHP Robert Gsellman, 30: “I didn’t really look at pitchers growing up, I wanted to be a position player. I wanted to be like Evan Longoria; I played third base and I was kind of tall.”

RHP Mason Thompson, 25: “I would say Nolan Ryan. The way that he went about things, he was an imposing force on the mound. He imposed his will, showed guys that he was the ultimate competitor and you had to step up with your A-game to beat him. It was always inspiring. Then, obviously the Texas connection [Thompson is from Round Rock] and being the Texas icon that he was. Another one was Roger Clemens, for similar reasons. Guys that you knew that even if they were off that day, they were still going to beat you.”

LHP Joe La Sorsa, 25: “Randy Johnson because he was a big, tall lefty and I liked the way he slung the ball. [Jacob] deGrom because he threw a million and was just dominant. Growing up a Mets fan, I liked seeing success like that.”