Nationals manager Blake Butera wants regular check-ins with his young roster. Here’s why.

Nationals first baseman Curtis Mead is convicted in his feelings about manager Blake Butera.

The two have known each other since 2021, when Mead was a top prospect in the Rays organization and Butera was the manager at Single-A Charleston. Tampa Bay promoted Butera to senior director of player development at the conclusion of the 2023 season.

“I love Blake as a person and coach,” Mead said. “We had some hard conversations when I was sent down from the big leagues with Tampa, but I’ve always appreciated his honesty and transparency.”

Messaging can go a long way at the major league level. Delivering tough messages requires empathy, which can get lost in the data-driven ways of modern franchises.

“I know [Butera’s] got my best interest at heart, and he’s able to kind of spell it out for me a little bit more and give me some more in-depth information as to why the decision was made,” Mead said. “And he gave some points as to where I should be focusing my energy to kind of get back to the big leagues and get back to the player that I want to be.”

Being proactive and accountable has been a hallmark of Butera in his first season in charge. Overseeing the youngest position-player club in baseball, Butera and his staff have been more hands-on in their teaching and development.

One change for the Nationals has been six-week check-ins between players and the staff. The meetings include assistant general manager Devin Pearson, hitting coach Matt Borgschulte, field coordinator Tyler Smarslok, bench coach Michael Johns, strength coach Brett Henry and dietitian Logan Aitken.

The Nationals started holding these one-on-one meetings in spring training, when the organization’s values were established. The meetings are meant as an educational tool to help players understand what they’re doing well and what adjustments they need to make.

Butera said, as a minor leaguer in the Rays organization from 2015-17, he wished he had had that transparency.

“I never really knew what was important, what I needed to do well or how I knew if I’d move up [in the organization], or if I was doing well or doing poorly,” he said. “Sometimes you get told the information [and you] might not be happy to hear it, but at least you know where you stand and, like, what you can get better at. I don’t think it’s fair to have players not knowing what we need to see from them.”

In the meetings, Butera said, coaches give players a goal or two in a certain area. For left fielder Daylen Lile, it will be lowering the chase rate and helping him understand how pitchers are attacking him.

The Nationals tailor each meeting to the player. Center fielder Jacob Young said they are helpful for figuring out which stats he should be looking at.

“Sometimes you can get lost within the stats,” Young said. “It’s refreshing to know what their goal for you is. It’s something that definitely can reset your mind.”

Developing players at the major league level is difficult because Butera’s job entails focusing on fielding the best team he can to win every night. But creating an environment in which players can have dialogues with coaches about their game will be pertinent as more of the Nationals’ top prospects graduate to the major league club in the ensuing years.

“When you have a young roster like we do, there’s probably a little bit more teaching that goes on,” Butera said. “As these guys start to understand how to play the game, how to build routines, you’ll see probably less teaching and more stuff happening in game.”