WASHINGTON – Justin Lord was supposed to be the pitching coach at Single-A Fredericksburg before the pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season.
And Zach Brzykcy, 21, could have been a senior this fall at Virginia Tech had he not signed as a non-drafted free agent with the Nationals this past summer.
With a season of changed plans, Lord and Brzykcy – both new to Washington’s organization this year – were in Florida for Instructional League in October.
And that allowed Lord, a pitching coach in the Orioles’ farm system in 2019, a chance to see Brzykcy in person for the first time.