Sam Narron was the pitching coach at high Single-A Potomac in 2019 when lefty Tim Cate was promoted from low Single-A Hagerstown.
And the University of Connecticut product – drafted in the second round in 2018 by the Nationals – didn’t miss a beat.
After 13 starts at Hagerstown with a 2.82 ERA, Cate also made 13 starts in the Carolina League and ended with a 3.31 ERA with Potomac.
He was 11-9, 3.07 in 26 starts overall, and gave up just six homers total in 143.2 innings in 2019.
Now Cate, 23, after being part of the 60-player pool in Virginia this summer, has reunited with Narron this month at Instructional League in Florida.