PHILADELPHIA – There are five tools that are traditionally used to evaluate a baseball player.
Nationals manager Blake Butera has identified a sixth for rookie outfielder Andrew Pinckney.
“Personality-wise, he's one of the greatest kids I've had the chance to meet and get to know a little bit,” Butera said earlier this week.
About those tools ... well, they play against Cy Young Award contenders. In just his second career at-bat, Pinckney belted his first home run off Cristopher Sánchez on Thursday.
Pinckney sent a sinker a Statcast-projected 402 feet at an exit velocity of 109.3 mph to right-center field at Citizens Bank Park. It was only the 13th homer Sánchez has allowed this season.
Pinckney is the seventh player in Nationals team history (2005-present) to homer for his first career hit. It had not been done since Joey Meneses on Aug. 2, 2022. Pinckney also joins Carter Kieboom (April 26, 2019), Juan Soto (May 21, 2018), Corey Brown (July 28, 2012), Tommy Milone (Sept. 3, 2011) and Justin Maxwell (Sept. 11, 2007).
Pinckney, a 2023 fourth-round Draft pick, emerged from a Nationals system crowded with outfield depth. He made his Major League debut as a pinch-runner in extra innings on Wednesday night. The next day, he was in the lineup for his first big league start.
“Seeing what he's able to do on the baseball field is pretty special,” Butera said on Tuesday. “He's able to do some things that not many in this game can do because of the type of athlete that he is. Now it's going to be about consistency and if he can put it all together.”
Pinckney was promoted on Tuesday when James Wood was placed on the 10-day injured list (oblique). At the time, he was slashing .271/.345/.425 with Triple-A Rochester. Selected out of Alabama in the same Draft class as Dylan Crews, Pinckney played all of last season in Rochester. He was invited to Major League camp, and he appeared in 94 games this year with the Red Wings.
“He was playing great,” Butera said. “I think the outfield defense is what stands out the most. He was hitting the ball really hard. Stole a ton of bases so far this year. Just a dynamic player that can bring a lot of different things to us.”
Pinckney showed off his arm before he showed off his swing. In the second inning, he fielded a Trea Turner double off the left-field wall as Justin Crawford rounded third base. Pinckney fired the ball with an arm strength of 89 mph to shortstop CJ Abrams, who hurled the relay to catcher Keibert Ruiz for the out at home plate.