After whirlwind '23, No. 17 prospect Pinckney finding his place

JUPITER, Fla. -- At first glance, Nationals outfielder Andrew Pinckney is low key with a soft tone in his voice.

But don’t be fooled.

The man from Peachtree City, Ga., can rake. After being selected in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Alabama, Pinckney hit .321 with four home runs, 20 RBIs and a .415 on-base percentage while playing 41 games over four levels (the rookie-level Florida Complex League, Single-A Fredericksburg, High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg) in the organization.

“You kind of look back and … reflect on what happened,” Pinckney said. “I was hitting .250 with four home runs going into April of college ball. Things just picked up quickly. I got drafted. I started playing well. It happened really fast. You look back on it, the good outweighed the bad. It was just a pretty good 2023 for me.”

Pinckney, 23, enters the 2024 season as the 17th-ranked prospect in the Nationals’ system according to MLB Pipeline. His performance last season earned him a chance to taste big league life this spring. Pinckney has received four Spring Training at-bats and learned that he stacks up with the talent already in camp.

“It’s been pretty fun. Just being able to be in some big league dugouts and being able to hang around the actual big [league] team has been pretty cool. That’s where I want to be,” Pinckney said. “I’m prepared one day to be in the Major Leagues. I haven’t seen anything that I haven’t seen before. I’m fully aware I can do this, and these guys aren’t aliens.”

Manager Dave Martinez is impressed by what he has seen from Pinckney.

“Just by watching him, the kid is an athlete,” the skipper said. “He does some really special things. Since I’ve seen him, he [swings the bat] in the strike zone. He doesn’t chase. He really has a good two-strike approach, and he tries to move the baseball.”

Pinckney comes from a baseball family. His father, David, was a college baseball player at Grambling State University, where he earned All-SWAC honors. Thanks to his father, Andrew has been in baseball the moment he was born. David has been with his son every step of the journey.

“We have been going for this thing my whole life,” Andrew said. “I never really had a hitting coach or a guy like that. So it’s just me and him figuring things out along the way. He has been great. I couldn’t ask for a better dad. … It’s great to have him as a resource.”

• 1 under-the-radar Spring Breakout prospect for each club

Pinckney will be featured in the Spring Breakout game on Friday afternoon at Clover Park when the Nationals prospects face the Mets prospects.

“I didn’t know that was the thing,” he said. “It’s the first year. It’s super cool. When [I] was told I was playing, I was super excited. I told my mom and dad. It should be great.”