“I’ve heard nothing but good things about him,” Davey Martinez said after the Nationals called up the 22-year-old catcher Israel Pineda earlier this month.
“He’s handled the pitching really well down in Rochester,” the big league manager added.
“He swung the bat well. So he’s going to get an opportunity.”
Pineda, signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2016, worked his way up from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A and finally to the majors this season, and made his debut in Philadelphia on the last road trip. He put up a .258/.325/.458 line, 20 doubles, and 16 home runs between the Nats’ three affiliates.