Righty prospect Treinen reassigned to Minors camp
Pitcher leaves good impression on Williams, Nationals with strong spring finish
JUPITER, Fla. -- The Nationals reassigned right-hander Blake Treinen to Minor League camp on Monday morning.
Treinen said he wanted to leave a good impression before Spring Training ended, and it's safe to say he did. After getting hit hard in his first relief appearance, Treinen only allowed one run in his last 8 2/3 innings and notched seven strikeouts.
According to manager Matt Williams, Treinen -- ranked as the Nats' No. 17 prospect by MLB.com -- was thankful to get a long look, and the Nats let him know that he is in the next wave of players who could be in the big leagues soon.
"He proved everything he had to prove this spring to us. We were all pleasantly surprised because of his progress, the way he threw the baseball," Williams said.
Treinen could start the Minor League season as a starter or reliever for Triple-A Syracuse. The Nationals want to stretch him out as a starter for now, though Treinen has told Williams that he likes pitching in relief as well.
"His stuff plays at any point during a game," Williams said. "It's a bowling ball at 97 [mph]. So that's all good. We have some depth in the starting roles. So he may be able to help us in the bullpen as well."