These are strange and sometimes scary times for many due to the pandemic – but an unusual Major League season has created an opportunity for young pitcher Jackson Rutledge.
The Nationals’ top pick in the 2019 First-Year Player draft, Rutledge, 21, had already been able to spend time with veteran pitchers Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin in late January and early February before spring training even began in West Palm Beach.
“I went down early got used to be in the facility every day and throwing outside, which was nice,” Rutledge told Federal Baseball on Wednesday.