Sean Doolittle didn’t really have a defined role with the Nationals at this time last year, but the fact that he was a player as recently as 202x and understands both analytics and how to apply them because a driving force in the development of several of the Nats’ young pitchers last year.
He’s technically a ‘pitching strategist,’ but when righty Jake Irvin talked with Grant Paulsen at Nats spring training on Thursday, he explained how Doo being ‘just a dude being a dude’ turned into a huge cog in the development system.
“Last year he was just kind of here hanging out, but as spring progressed, you could kind of feel that he was antsy to stay around the guys, and as we got closer to the season, he was awesome,” Irvin said. “Just the way that he was able to communicate, having been a player so recently, he had been there and he knew what we were going through physically, mentally, and that was cool to have somebody like that to relate to and somebody that cared so much. So he has been awesome in that role.”
Nothing new for the Nationals’ player development staff, it seems.
“When it comes to the minor leagues, we have a bunch of really good people up and down the organization. Whether it's pitching coaches, managers, strength staff, athletic training staff, we've got really good people, and people that are helping build a culture in this organization,” Irvin said. “For so long, the Nationals were so competitive at the big league level that minor league pieces were traded away to keep that kind of the same, but now we've got a culture where guys are trying to establish themselves, and want to get better. The staff wants them to get better, and I think that feeding off of that and being a part of that energy and that group has pushed guys to be the best versions of themselves.”
Listen to Irvin's entire visit with Grant above!