Nationals' Josiah Gray: Racking up Ks

Gray struck out five and walked two over three innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, allowing one run on two hits.

That's now 10 strikeouts in five innings for Gray to begin the spring, and the right-hander fanned Trevor Story and Triston Casas twice each during Saturday's outing. His strikeout rate sagged to 20.5 percent last season, down from 23.7 percent in 2022, so Gray will need to get more swing-and-miss out of his arsenal if he's going to take another step forward in his development. The Nationals are counting on the 26-year-old to be one of the pillars of their rotation, but as yet he hasn't put it all together in the majors, with his career-best 3.91 ERA last year masking a 1.46 WHIP and 4.93 FIP.