Nathan hit 92 mph on the stadium radar gun during a shutout inning of work in Saturday's Grapefruit League opener against the Mets, The Washington Post reports. "I'll tell you, it felt very easy today," Nathan said. "I'm surprised that it got there. Normally, for me, spring has always been velocity down, even when I was a mid-to-upper [90s] guy. I always threw low 90s in the spring, so for me to go out and be 91, 92 for a first outing, and I felt very easy out there. I didn't feel like I was putting too much effort into pitches. I felt very smooth, very effortless, I would say."

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He gave up a leadoff single to Rene Rivera, but escaped facing the minimum number of batters thanks to a double play. If those velocity readings were accurate, they represent a big step forward for Nathan in his quest to secure a spot in the Nationals' bullpen, after he averaged a career-low 91.2 mph on his fastball last season in a handful of innings after recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. There's still a long way to go, but Saturday's performance was definitely an encouraging one for the 42-year-old.