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[Washington Nationals]

The Washington Nationals 2025 draft class will be exciting to watch in the farm

As we enter 2026, one thing I will be keeping track of this season is the progress of the Nationals top 5 picks in the 2025 draft. Armed with plenty of bonus pool money, the Nationals were able to land five of MLB Pipeline’s top 100 players in last year’s draft. With Paul Toboni bringing in a new development system, I am excited to see who breaks out next year.

Eli Willits, Ethan Petry, Landon Harmon, Miguel Sime Jr., and Coy James were the Nats top 5 picks, and that is quite the haul. The Nats decided to select Willits first overall on an underslot deal so they could come away with those four players. This strategy allowed the Nats to get plenty of high quality players.

Despite Willits going well underslot, he still has the potential to be the best player in the class. After a strong pro debut as a 17 year old, Willits is the highest ranked 2025 draftee on the MLB Pipeline top 100. He is even ahead of the more famous Ethan Holliday.

Despite being the youngest first overall pick ever, Willits hit the ground running in pro ball. A lot of high school draftees do not play in affiliated ball until the spring after they were drafted. However, Willits was so advanced as a player that the Nats sent him to Low-A.

He rewarded their faith, hitting .300 in 15 games. Willits is just a natural baseball player. He makes a ton of contact from both sides of the plate, while also having a very good eye. Defensively, Willits is very instinctive and can make all the plays at shortstop. He is the definition of a gamer.

Eli Willits singles….Luke Dickerson drives him in!

FUTUREEEEE!!!!! pic.twitter.com/A8mXDGN0qU

— Fredericksburg Nationals (@FXBGNats) August 24, 2025

Willits is not a perfect prospect though. The power is still a bit of a question mark. He probably will not be a 25 home run guy, but he can add some strength. A comparison I like is Geraldo Perdomo, the shortstop for the Diamondbacks who had an insane 2025 season. Like Willits, Perdomo does not have insane tools, but he is a natural baseball player with great instincts and feel.

Willits should start 2026 at either Low-A or High-A. Due to the glut of young middle infielders, there is a chance that Willits goes to High-A so everyone has a spot. Given his strong numbers at Low-A, he could hold his own at the next level. Even if he starts at Low-A, a promotion to High-A would be on the horizon. Willits’ goal is to be an MLB player by 20 years old.

Even though Willits is the highest ranked player from his draft class right now, he still came at a discount. Despite being picked later, Kade Anderson and Ethan Holliday both commanded larger bonuses. By taking a discount, Willits allowed the Nats to go nuts with their next four picks.

While second rounder Ethan Petry commanded an overslot bonus, his $2.09 million bonus was around the $1.98 million slot value. Petry is your prototypical slugger. At 6’4 235 pounds, he is a menacing presence in the batters box. When he connects with the ball, it goes very far. He has some high profile college home runs against the likes of Paul Skenes, Chase Burns and Liam Doyle.

Ethan Petry hit a homerun last night off of an elevated 98.5 mph Liam Doyle fastball with 22.7” IVB and a -3.4° VAA

Petry has an 89% ZCon%, 110 mph 90th EV, and a whiff rate around 15% vs hard FB and BRK pic.twitter.com/CrrhLicyRN

— Jacob (@jacobledelman) March 29, 2025

Petry has played in the outfield, but he is likely to be a first baseman long term. He is not a great mover and while he has a big arm, that is not enough to survive in the outfield. That means he is really going to have to hit.

Like a lot of big sluggers, Petry has some swing and miss in his game. It improved throughout his college career, but he is always going to be a three true outcome slugger. In pro ball, Petry showed impressive patience at the plate. He walked nearly 13% of the time in Low-A.

As the only 2025 draftee in the Arizona Fall League, Petry also showed off his impressive batting eye. Against more advanced pitching, Petry had whiff problems and some trouble tapping into his power. However, his .400 on base percentage was still very impressive.

There are a lot of ways this could go for Petry. He could be a middle of the order slugger, or a guy who does not quite meet the offensive threshold to be an everyday first baseman. Petry should start next season in High-A, and I am interested to follow his progress.

The guy I might be most excited to watch is the Nats third round pick Landon Harmon. Using the money they saved from Willits, the Nats signed Harmon to a $2.5 million signing bonus, which is way over the $1.01 million slot value.

Harmon is a high school right handed pitcher with an electric fastball. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Travis Sykora, who the Nats took in the 3rd round of the 2023 draft. Harmon has a projectable frame at 6’5 190 pounds. He has room to add at least 20 pounds as he matures.

Despite the skinny frame, Harmon has a big fastball. It sits in the mid-90’s and has touched 99. Scouts consider it a plus pitch due to the velocity, the explosive life on the pitch and the potential of more velocity down the road.

Possibly the best pick of the 3rd round in the 2025 MLB draft, the Nationals signing RHP Landon Harmon.

65-grade Fastball
55-grade Slider

Changeup could use some improvement, but at 6-ft-5, the 19-y/o's ceiling is incredibly high.

Here's him vs. the No. 4 pick Ethan Holliday… pic.twitter.com/pF9EvlwAzC

— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) December 25, 2025

The fastball is certainly the star of the show here. Harmon has shown a slider that projects to be above average, but still needs some work. The changeup also needs plenty of fine tuning. Harmon’s command is good for a high school pitcher, but still could use some improvement. With his live arm and lower effort delivery, he projects to have at least average command though.

Harmon will spend most of this season in Low-A most likely. He may start the season in Rookie Ball depending on what new management thinks he is ready for. Right now, he is the Nats 8th ranked prospect, but he could be a big time riser.

The Nats 4th round pick, Miguel Sime Jr., is another flamethrowing high school righty. Like Harmon, Sime signed for well above slot value. Despite the pick having a slot value of $687k, Sime signed for $2 million.

The similarities between the two pitchers do not stop there though. Like Harmon, Sime’s fastball is his biggest weapon. He throws even harder than Harmon, consistently working in the upper 90’s and even touching triple digits on multiple occasions. The heater also has strong life and could be a plus-plus pitch one day.

Miguel Sime Jr. is another prep arm to watch for 2026. The 18-year-old, 6-ft-4, 235-lb RHP runs his fastball into the upper-90s consistently, and pairs it with an above-avg slider!

Between Sime and Landon Harmon, the upside of the Nationals’ 3rd/4th-round picks is sky-high.

:… pic.twitter.com/wqBUE0yaL9

— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) December 28, 2025

Sime’s frame is more similar to Jarlin Susana than Harmon though. At 18, Sime is a massive dude with a 6’4 235 pound frame. That mass allows him to hold his velocity deep into his starts, just like Susana.

Sime is a raw prospect though. He has shown a decent feel to spin, but his curveball and slider are not elite. Occasionally he will uncork a really nice changeup, but the consistency is not there yet. The command is his biggest question mark though. He can be quite erratic at times, but his control was trending in a positive direction last spring.

With his stuff, Sime does not have to paint corners like Greg Maddux. All he has to do is be around the zone enough and not throw it right down the middle. Sime has a massive ceiling and a strong fall back in the bullpen. He is still raw though and will likely start the season in Rookie Ball.

In the 5th round, the Nats had one more trick up their sleeve. At this point, the savings from the Willits selection had been used up, but the Nats wanted one more big name prospect. By taking advantage of senior signings in rounds 6-10, the Nats were able to save enough money to take Coy James in the 5th round.

Around the draft, James had buzz to be an early second or even late first round pick. However, he was seen as a tough signing due to his Ole Miss commitment. Despite being taken in the 5th round, the Nats gave James $2.5 million to sign. The next highest bonus of the fifth round was $1.5 million.

The Nats paid up for James because of his well rounded skillset. While he is a shortstop now, most scouts see his future home being at third or second base. He has good hands and actions, but his range is not the best. Still, he is likely to be a solid defender on the infield.

His bat is the real star of the show though. From a young age, James was known as an advanced hitter. He has a strong combination of hitting ability and power. James has the potential to have above average hitting ability and power. He does chase more than you would like and he was inconsistent in the showcase events.

A strong senior year in high school helped his stock rebound, but there are still some questions. However, James is a good hitter with a nice looking right handed swing. Getting a guy with those tools in the 5th round is very exciting. James did not play in any affiliated games, but he did play on the back fields, where he showed some of that power.

Coy James first pro HR pic.twitter.com/R9dx1CaUsm

— Nationals Source (@NationalsSource) September 4, 2025

James could be the guy that Luke Dickerson was supposed to be last year. I think he will get his feet wet in rookie ball like Dickerson before quickly moving to Low-A. When James goes to Low-A, Willits would probably get promoted to High-A. While there is some doubt about James’ ability to stick at shortstop, he should get a chance to play there.

Overall, this is an extremely exciting draft class. Given how young all of these guys are, they will be Paul Toboni’s biggest development projects. I am fascinated to see what these guys can do in their first full seasons and how Toboni can help them improve. This has a chance to be a franchise changing draft.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/mlb...onals-2025-draft-class-exciting-watch-in-farm

 

[Washington Nationals]

The Washington Nationals weekly news update

There were no blockbuster moves made by the Nationals this past week, but there were a couple interesting news items I wanted to discuss. With the holiday season, the MLB offseason has slowed to a crawl this week. However, there was still some movement and fun things to take a look at.

The most noteworthy piece of Nats news this week was the signing of Matt Mervis to a Minor League deal. Mervis is a slugging first baseman who has shown promise in the minors but has not put it together in the MLB yet. He is also a DC native who went to high school at Georgetown Prep.

Matt Mervis signs deal with his hometown Nats

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 24, 2025

Mervis is getting a minor league deal with a spring training invite. The Nats have also brought in Warming Bernabel, so there could be a bit of a camp battle at the first base position. Hopefully the Nats also bring in a veteran like Rhys Hoskins because a Matt Mervis/Warming Bernabel first base platoon is not great.

In 78 MLB games, Mervis is a .165 career big league hitter with a .560 OPS, so not pretty. Mervis hit 7 home runs last April and posted an .848 OPS for the month, so maybe he can recapture that form. However, he went 5/45 in May and was DFA’d by the Marlins. He spent the rest of the year in the D-Backs system.

Even if he does not make the team, the 27 year old Mervis is a solid depth piece. He has 101 career minor league homers and a career .872 OPS. The Nats need more organizational depth and Mervis provides that. If he performs well in AAA, he should get a shot at some point this season.

The next piece of news is related to jersey numbers. A few Nats players changed their numbers this past week. Daylen Lile, Brady House, Brad Lord and Jackson Rutledge will all have new numbers in 2026.

Here are a few Nationals number changes. Daylen Lile in number 4 is icy icl pic.twitter.com/Ai3jgOKUs2

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) December 23, 2025

The most interesting one for me is Lile, who went from 51 to 4. Notably, Davey Martinez wore number 4 during his time as manager. Brady House going to 12 is also a fun one. All of these guys are young players who have finally established themselves as big leaguers.

On a side note, I am somewhat interested to see how Jackson Rutledge performs this year. He is someone who might benefit from the new coaching staff. His slider is a really good pitch that got very good results last year. I have a feeling he will be throwing it more than 25.8% of the time in 2026.

Lastly, the Nationals officially finalized their coaching staff last week. Most of these names are not new, but there is one coach we have not talked about yet. It is also fun to see the staff become official.

our 2026 coaching staff is official pic.twitter.com/R9wCKUvR92

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) December 23, 2025

The new name I hinted at is Shawn O’Malley. He will be one of two assistant hitting coaches, with the other being Andrew Aydt. O’Malley is a former player, who actually spent some time in the MLB. He was the Mariners AAA hitting coach this past year, where he was the 2025 minor league coach of the year for the organization.

His work this past year with new Nationals catcher Harry Ford impresses me. In 2024, Ford struggled to show much power in AA. However, he turned things around at a higher level in 2025. He hit 7 homers in 430 at bats in 2024 but exploded in 2025, hitting 16 in 374 at bats.

The Nats coaching staff is now set and it is an exciting one. Sure, there is a lot of youth and not a ton of experience. However, the Nats desperately needed new ideas and they will get them from this staff.

I am very excited to see which players show major improvement this upcoming season. There is going to be a player who comes out of nowhere to become productive with this new staff, the question is who will it be. It was not the most eventful week in Nats news, but there was still some stuff to talk about and break down.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...6/the-washington-nationals-weekly-news-update

 

[Washington Nationals]

Where are the mentors on this Washington Nationals team?

The Washington Nationals are painfully light on experience. From the front office, to the coaching staff and the players, there are not many proven commodities. This is both exciting and somewhat concerning. As we get deeper into the offseason, the need for veteran leadership has become more glaring.

We have talked a lot about the inexperience in the front office and coaching staff. The influx of people in their 30’s has been pretty exciting. Over the past few years, the Nats front office and coaching staff has been old and behind the 8 ball. Now, it feels like the Nats are trying to modernize which I like.

I broke down the Nats youth movement in the front office and on the coaching staff. It is jarring when you look at the age gap between the new and old regimes https://t.co/9BplTJSx75

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) December 19, 2025

It is a risky move, but the reward is also very high. These young minds seem to be on the cutting edge and have bright futures ahead of them. However, one thing that has become concerning is the total lack of experience on the roster. The Nats have not been active in free agency and are light on players who could play a mentor role.

Right now the Nats roster has a combined one playoff at bat and zero playoff innings. The only playoff at bat actually came from their new catcher Harry Ford, who got a hit last postseason. Besides that, no National has ever been in a playoff game.

This is going to be a young roster, but I hope Paul Toboni brings in at least one guy who has been there and done that. By far the oldest player on the roster right now is Trevor Williams, who won’t even be ready to start the season. Even Williams, who has been in the league since 2016 has never appeared in a playoff game. There is a real shortage of guys who have won a lot of baseball games in their career.

I worry about the culture and how all the losing will impact it. Besides Williams, there are not many other long time big leaguers on the roster. Even on a young team, you need some mentors. Who will players like James Wood and Dylan Crews learn from in this locker room? Keibert Ruiz is an old head on this team at this point.

Right now, the three oldest position players on the roster are Riley Adams, Drew Millas and Keibert Ruiz. That is pretty nuts if you ask me. They need to bring somebody in to help establish a culture. It is pretty clear that they are not going to splash the cash this offseason, but a Josh Bell type of veteran is needed.

Rhys Hoskins is a guy who strikes me as a strong fit. He has seen it all in his career. When he came up, Hoskins was on a rebuilding Phillies team looking to get back to prominence. Later on in his time with the Phillies, he was on more competitive teams who had a lot of veterans and a high standard.

Then Hoskins went to the Brewers where he was part of another winning culture. The Brewers culture is more analytically minded and not built around stars. Hoskins seems like someone who would be a good mentor and also a solid first baseman.

With how inexperienced this roster is, I would be very disappointed if Paul Toboni did not bring in more experience. At times, Mike Rizzo may have relied too much on these cheap veterans on one year deals. However, not having any mentors on the team creates problems as well.

You need to pick the right kind of guys. We saw that last year when the Nats brought in Nathaniel Lowe to be a leader, which did not work out. Just because a guy is a veteran does not mean they are a leader. However, you need some experience to balance things out.

This is a new era where the development of young players is the top priority. However, Toboni does constantly mention that you win with people. That is very true in an MLB locker room. Without mentors, development is tougher. The Nats need to bring in some veterans who are wired the right way to help out this young group.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/general/88100/where-are-mentors-on-washington-nationals-team

 

[Washington Nationals]

Where Does 2025 Rank Among The Most Important Years In Washington Nationals History?

2025 was, for all intents and purposes, a pretty bad year for the Washington Nationals. Expectations weren’t especially high, with most fans expecting a win total in the 70s and a few holding out with playoff hopes, but the team wasn’t able to achieve even that, finishing 66-96 and resulting in the firing of Manager Davey Martinez, with the ballclub since 2018, and General Manager Mike Rizzo, with the club since 2006. 2025 also saw the debut of Juan Soto, one of the icons of the Nationals franchise, as a New York Met, marking the first of 15 years as a division rival of the Nats.

While the results of the 2025 Nationals season were not pretty, the events that took place during it may have made it one of the most important seasons in the franchise’s history. The same way we look at 2005, 2012, and 2019 as critical junctures in the Nats’ history, we may one day speak about 2025 the same way. Let’s take a look at all the important events that took place this year for the Nats, and where 2025 ranks in terms of importance among years in Nationals history.

July 6th: Manager Davey Martinez and GM Mike Rizzo are fired

The first, and perhaps the most major, event that took place in what was looking like a forgettable 2025 Nationals season was the firing of Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez on July 6th, after a 4-6 loss to the Boston Red Sox, which dropped the Nats to 37-53 on the year. Fans were aware that Rizzo and Martinez’s contract options were due to be picked up that month, but with the deadline to pick up the option unknown, and the Lerners family’s general unwillingness to do anything to the team on the baseball side, many fans, myself included, were caught off guard by the decision.

While the decision was long-awaited and necessary in order to catch the Nationals back up to the rest of the league in terms of analytical thinking, its timing came as a shock to many, as the Nationals were one week away from making the first overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. With Rizzo, who rumor has it was all aboard the Kade Anderson train and was not going to be dissuaded from him, out of the picture, the new interim Mike Debartolo and the remaining front office had the freedom to make the pick they wanted to.

July 13th: Eli Willits is selected with the first overall pick

There was much speculation about whether the firing of Mike Rizzo would change the Nationals’ plans with the first overall pick, or if the plan was pretty much set in stone long before his removal. Leading up to the draft, Ethan Holliday, a shortstop out of Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Kade Anderson, a left-handed pitcher from LSU, dominated the talk about the Nationals’ selection, but outside options such as Eli Willits, Liam Doyle, and Jamie Arnold garnered speculation as well after Rizzo’s firing.

In the end, the talent, tools, and athleticism of Eli Willits won over the Nationals’ war room, who later said Willits was always the plan for them at 1.1. The choice by Debartolo and his staff to take a young, toolsy middle infielder like Willits over the big and famous tools of prospects like Holliday and Anderson was as strong an indicator of the new chapter the Nationals were beginning to write in their history. With the savings from selecting Willits first overall, the Nats also had one of their deepest drafts in memory, taking multiple prospects with the potential to be building blocks of the franchise in future years.

2nd Half 2025: The Daylen Lile Breakout

July was an exciting time for the Nationals, with the firing of their longtime manager and GM, having the first overall pick in the draft, and a hectic trade deadline which saw 6 Nationals sent to new homes. August and September, however, were rather unremarkable, as the team was well on its way to its 6th consecutive season under .500. One storyline that kept fans hooked, however, was the emergence of outfielder Daylen Lile in his return to the big leagues.

Lile made his big league debut in May, but was sent back down to Rochester in early June. He returned to the big leagues in mid-June, during the infamous 11-game losing streak, and from there, proved why he was going to play a big part in the Nationals’ future. In the second half of 2025, Lile posted a 162 wRC+, the 8th best among all hitters in baseball. In September, he posted a ridiculous 230 wRC+, the 2nd best in baseball, behind only AL MVP Aaron Judge. Lile finished the 2025 campaign with a 132 wRC+ and 1.4 fWAR over 91 games, good for a 5th-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Not much went right for the Nationals in 2025, but the breakout of Daylen Lile is one that went really, really right for them.

September 24th: Paul Toboni is hired as the new President of Baseball Operations

Ownership knew that they could not sit on their hands and wait too long when it came to the decision of who would be calling the shots on the baseball side of operations for the organization, and before the 2025 regular season even ended, they went out and got a new president of baseball operations in Paul Toboni. The 35-year-old Toboni had been an assistant GM for the Red Sox for years and was one of the most respected young minds in the game of baseball. Toboni also came from a rigorous analytical background, marking a sharp change in philosophy from the old school style organization Mike Rizzo was running.

It will be years until we know the true impact Toboni will have on this organization, but based on everything he’s done so far, from filling out his front office and the coaching staff with other young, brilliant baseball minds, to savvy offseason acquisitions such as Harry Ford and Luis Perales, I expect we will look with great joy on the decision in 2025 to have him lead this club/

Where does it rank in terms of the most important years in Nationals history?

When we sit back one day and discuss the most important years in Nationals history, I expect 2025 to be one of those years we talk about near the very top of the list. 2019 will always be the benchmark, one practically no non-championship Nats team can ever touch, and 2012 was critical in changing the culture and perspective around the ballclub, but outside of those two, there may not be a more impactful year in the ballclub’s history than 2025.

Others had their moments, such as 2005 marking the return of baseball to DC, the opening of Nationals Park in 2008, the arrival of Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper’s MVP in 2015, and the Juan Soto trade in 2022, but in terms of years that had moments which will shape this franchise forever, 2025 may just have them all beat.

We are just 2 days away from the beginning of 2026, and thus the beginning of a new year in Nationals history. While the expectation on the field is another middling season, where the young guns get their big league reps and the coaching staff goes through growing pains, that doesn’t mean it’s how the year will play out, as we learned from the 2025 ballclub. In the same way the 2025 season was not what we expected, sometimes in bad ways, I hope for the same thing in 2026, but perhaps with a few more surprises on the good side.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...-important-years-washington-nationals-history

 

[Washington Nationals]

Five Washington Nationals relievers who are breakout candidates in 2026

Entering 2026, the Washington Nationals bullpen is loaded with uncertainty. The unit had the worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball last year, with a 5.59 mark. Rather than adding to the unit, Paul Toboni has made the group even worse on paper so far this offseason by trading presumptive closer Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners.

There is likely to be at least one free agent addition to the bullpen this offseason. However, most of the best free agent relievers are off the market. Toboni’s lack of urgency in attacking the free agent relief market tells me that he has some trust in the internal options at his disposal.

With that in mind, I am going to look at five pitchers who Toboni is likely to be intrigued by. Most of these guys did not put up great numbers last year, but have some intriguing traits. They all have good stuff but need to make some command improvements or adjust their pitch mixes.

The first pitcher I want to discuss is a guy who most fans probably do not have much hope for at this point. That would be Jackson Rutledge. The 2019 first rounder finally spent a full season in the MLB, but the results were not pretty. He posted an ugly 5.77 ERA in 63 appearances. The underlying numbers were not much better either.

However, Rutledge has some pitch usage tweaks he could make that could really help him. Last season, he was not throwing his best pitches enough. The results and the stuff models agree that Rutledge’s two best pitches are his slider and splitter. He only threw the slider 25.8% of the time and he threw the splitter just 9.4% of the time.

Jackson Rutledge appreciation post:
39% Chase
36% whiff
35% K%
His splitter and slider have been absolutely unhittable and play off his fastballs beautifully (both at >50% whiff rates)
Walks are high but the rest of the process looks elite and is desperately needed.#HighLevHim pic.twitter.com/eImzu6Otkx

— ████ (@Iletmykpop) May 3, 2025

Honestly, the slider should be the pitch Rutledge throws the most as a reliever. Batters hit just .194 against the pitch with a 39.7% whiff rate. The home run prone Rutledge also did not allow a single long ball on the slider. It should be his primary pitch against righties and an offering he throws more than 11% of the time against lefties.

Last season, Rutledge was solid against righties thanks to the slider, but lefties hit .363 against him. Upping his splitter usage would be one way to help solve his lefty problems. He threw the splitter 20% of the time against lefties with solid results. Meanwhile, he threw a cutter to lefties that got absolutely lit up 18% of the time. He may never be a star, but these usage tweaks could help Rutledge be a solid piece in the bullpen.

Another Nats reliever who should use a slider as their primary pitch is Clayton Beeter. He actually showed a lot for the Nats down the stretch. After being traded from the Yankees, he posted a 2.49 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Right now, he is the favorite to be the Nats closer.

Clayton Beeter slams the door for his 1st career save 13.2 straight scoreless, 20 Ks, just 2 hits allowed since joining the Nats. 96+ heat, filthy slider. The kid’s nasty. #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/JtgcqKPGN7

— natsfanatics (@natsfanatics_) September 15, 2025

He already throws his slider a lot, using it 46% of the time. However, I think he could use it even more. Beeter is a two pitch guy, using the slider 46% of the time and a fastball 54% of the time. I think he should flip those two numbers and use the slider as his primary pitch.

It got great results, with a .098 batting average against and a 49.1% whiff rate despite the heavy usage. The pitch also pops on stuff models with a 126 stuff+ rating. Beeter’s lack of strike-throwing could make this strategy harder to pull off. Pitchers tend to throw more fastballs when they are behind in the count.

However, Beeter’s slider command might actually be better than his fastball command. Trusting the pitch in any count could be the next step in his development. Beeter is not as much of a breakout candidate because he has sort of broken out already. I do think there are some more steps he could take to show that production was for real.

The next breakout candidate is a guy who I thought would establish himself in 2025, but did not do so. I had high hopes for Orlando Ribalta entering 2025, but he was awful, posting a 7.03 ERA in 22 outings. An injury cost him a few months, but even when he was on the field, the results were not there.

I was not the only Ribalta believer entering 2025, and the stuff is still impressive. Maybe 2026 is the year where we see the best out of the 6’7 reliever. He has a few really impressive pitches and looks the part.

I will be buying my Orlando Ribalta stocks please and thank you.

99th percentile in my four-seam fastball whiff model, very funky Bugs Bunny changeup, and a nasty gyro slider with good velocity. He could be a really fun relief arm for the Nats next year. Go Orlando! pic.twitter.com/HnN4W1inHf

— Steven (@GoCubs49) December 31, 2024

Ribalta throws a 4-seamer, a sinker, a slider and a changeup. All four pitches have promise, but the results are inconsistent. The 4-seam fastball averages 96.4 MPH and has very good carry. It was his best pitch in 2025, with batters hitting .192 against it.

His slider grades out well on models, but got lit up in 2025. Hitters had an insane .806 slugging percentage against the pitch. I think Ribalta’s best secondary pitch is his bugs bunny changeup. He generated whiffs more than 40% of the time with the changeup. Ribalta is also comfortable throwing it to righties and lefties.

He finishes off the arsenal with a sinker that generates a ton of weak contact. Ribalta had massive problems with walks and home runs, but the tools are there. Hopefully Toboni and the development team can help Ribalta solve some of these problems.

The one reliever the Nats have added to the fold is Griff McGarry, who they selected in the Rule 5 Draft from the Phillies. McGarry was a starter last year and posted a 3.44 ERA with a ton of strikeouts in 83.1 minor league innings.

However, a lack of command will push McGarry into a bullpen role. The Nats will be incentivized to keep McGarry on the roster because they would have to return him to the Phillies if they demote him. He has the stuff to thrive in the MLB, but the command is a question.

The raw stuff is world class. His 121 stuff+ rating was one of the best numbers in the minor leagues. At his best, his fastball/slider combination is electric. His arm slot is tough to pick up and he is a whiff machine.

Few pitchers in the minors have stuff on the level of Griff McGarry.

The Phillies righthander blows up our Stuff+ models with a 121 overall score.

And he's available in the Rule 5 draft pic.twitter.com/K3xSsNXRAm

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) December 2, 2025

Toboni has a simple task with McGarry. Find a way to get him in the zone enough. Walks will always be a part of his game, but he has to keep them under control. It is similar to the Beeter situation. Even if he walks 12% of hitters, which is bad for most guys, he will be fine because of his stuff.

This is a fun Rule 5 bet to make. There is a chance he gets returned to the Phillies very quickly. However, there is also a chance that he becomes a key piece to the bullpen due to his swing and miss stuff.

The last guy I want to talk about is Cole Henry. After an injury riddled road, he was finally healthy in 2025 and established himself as a solid reliever. He faded a bit down the stretch and ended the season with an ERA over 4, but he showed plenty of flashes.

Henry has a low slot and big extension which helps deceive hitters. His fastball has a ton of life and is by far his best pitch. Batters hit .191 against the pitch and whiffed nearly 30% of the time against his heater. That whiff number is insane for a fastball, especially one that is 94.4 MPH.

2) Cole Henry – WSH

The Nationals rookie has started off hot thanks to his wicked fastball. It sits in the mid 90s with a ton of ride and run to make it an extremely effective weapon with a 52.6 Whiff%. Once his secondaries click, Henry should solidify himself as a stud! pic.twitter.com/koR6qYWzcb

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) April 28, 2025

For Henry, the next step in his development will be improving his command and secondary pitches. His curveball is decent, but I think Toboni may help him find another breaking ball shape. A sweeper would make a lot of sense given his slot. Henry’s curve has sweeper-like movement anyway. Stuff models also like the curve.

There is a chance that Henry is the closer next season. He still has health questions, but the stuff is there. Henry also seems like a fun template for smart pitching minds to work with. He has a lot of unique characteristics, which is always a positive.

This bullpen is very short on proven commodities, but there are some interesting names to develop. None of these guys are sure things, but I expect a couple of them to take big steps in 2026. Paul Toboni is sure betting on that because on paper, he has made the worst bullpen in baseball even worse on paper. However, I think these guys could make the bullpen much better next season.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...-nationals-relievers-breakout-candidates-2026

 

[Washington Nationals]

The six best Washington Nationals moments from 2025

2025 was not exactly a banner year for the Washington Nationals, but that does not mean there were not any fun moments. As the year comes to a close, I wanted to highlight six of the coolest things that happened on the field for the Nats this year. We discussed how important 2025 was off the field, but now we will look at some on-field memories.

With a 66-96 record, this season did not go according to plan. It is never a good sign when a whole regime gets fired. However, there were still some good times this year and I had a blast covering these moments. Let’s get into the list, which is in no particular order.

The first moment to discuss actually occurred on Opening Day. When MacKenzie Gore took the mound for his first career Opening Day start, he was a man on a mission. He sliced through the Phillies lineup with ease. Sure, there were shadows, but that does not take away from how impressive the outing was.

What an #OpeningDay start for MacKenzie Gore:

6 IP
1 H
0 R
0 BB
13 K pic.twitter.com/dL3GsmHrmV

— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2025

Gore looked ready to take the leap to ace status. Everything was working for him on that March afternoon. His fastball was lively, his curveball just dropped off the table and he was showing a new slider to left handed hitters that was nasty. Gore struck out 13, while walking nobody and allowing just one hit.

That dominance continued for the first half of the season. Gore made his first All-Star team, and posted a 3.02 ERA in the first half. Things went off the rails after the All-Star break, but Gore showed how high his ceiling really is. Ironically, the Nats bullpen immediately blew the game when he came out, an ominous sign of things to come.

The next moment may be one that you have forgotten about. Back in April, the Nats made history by turning their first triple play at Nationals Park. It came against the Mets on April 25th and was shrouded in controversy.

Former Nat Jesse Winker hit a line drive which Nathaniel Lowe allegedly caught. Then Lowe threw it to second base to double off the runner and finally, CJ Abrams tagged the runner standing on second base to get the triple play. It was an odd play that was very confusing.

Triple play!

The @Nationals turn THREE pic.twitter.com/aMzhnATpzf

— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2025

Upon further review, it did not seem like Lowe actually caught the ball, but the play stood. It was the first triple play in Nationals Park. In a season where so much went wrong for the Nats, this went so right. They ended up winning the game in walk off fashion and the Mets missed the playoffs by one game.

Another fun moment that occurred in April is when the Nats knocked off the champion Dodgers. Baseball is a sport where anything can happen, and this series proved that. The lowly Nationals won two out of three against the Dodgers, who won their second straight World Series this year.

After falling behind 4-0, 4 batters into the game, @Jirvy18 did not allow a run, finishing 6 innings. The @Nationals rallied with 3 in the 1st & 2 more in the 3rd for a 5-4 lead. But the @Dodgers score twice in the 7th and held on for a 6-5 win. The Nats won their 1st series at… pic.twitter.com/6bYDqwbNKx

— Charlie Slowes (@CharlieSlowes) April 9, 2025

I remember going to one of the games, where the Nats blitzed the Dodgers. James Wood hit two home runs and Brad Lord struck out Shohei Ohtani multiple times. Despite the cold weather, it was a really fun night.

That series, as well as a series win against the D-Backs afterwards had fans believing that this year could be a breakthrough for the Nats. The Nats were not a horrible team the first couple months. However, things really went off the rails when the month of June rolled around.

Speaking of June, there is one highlight from that miserable month. It is kind of funny that one of the highlights of the Nats season was a walk off homer to snap an 11 game losing streak, but here we are.

After losing three straight games to the lowly Rockies, the Nats losing streak had reached 11 games. The vibes were absolutely horrific. Between all the losing and Davey Martinez’s comments about how it is never on coaching, things were rough.

Game four of the Rockies series was another dog fight. Then in the 11th inning, the Nats young star James Wood had a signature moment. He hit an absolutely towering home run to straight away center to walk it off and snap the losing streak.

JAMES WOOD WALKS IT OFF!!!

HE SNAPS THE NATIONALS 11-GAME LOSING STREAK!!! pic.twitter.com/2P8SyNC5N4

— optimistic nats fan (@optimistic5518) June 19, 2025

He ended his season on a sour note, but Wood’s first half was so impressive. There were so many majestic home runs and impressive moments. Hopefully he can get back to that kind of form in 2026.

The next thing I want to talk about is actually a few plays combined. Jacob Young had a flair for the dramatic in the outfield this year. He made a few absolutely insane catches in 2025. Young has always been a defensive ace, but it felt like he made more acrobatic plays this year. We wrote about all of his crazy plays in September.

My favorite one came late in the season against the Mets. He made an insane catch where he made a play at the wall, but the ball popped out. His instincts came through though. Young kicked the ball in the air to himself and made an absurd play.

How on earth did Jacob Young catch this??? pic.twitter.com/xZ4ag2qCpf

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) September 21, 2025

He made another crazy catch later in the game, which ended up costing the Mets in a big way. In a season where the Mets were one win away from a playoff spot, the Nats magical plays proved costly.

The last highlight is yet another one of those magical plays against the Mets. This one came courtesy of Daylen Lile. As Nats fans know, Lile had a ridiculous month of September, where he won NL Player of the Month. He was an absolute hitting machine and was spraying the ball all over the yard.

While Lile is known for hitting a ton of triples, he took things one step further on this play. In extra innings, Lile smacked a ball that the center fielder just missed. The ball rolled away from the center fielder and Lile was on the move. At first, I was thinking he hit a triple, but he ended up going all the way home.

DAYLEN LILE, INSIDE-THE-PARK HOMER IN EXTRAS pic.twitter.com/QUmqYNemFQ

— MLB (@MLB) September 20, 2025

This inside the park home run proved to be the difference, and the Nats won a dramatic game. It was the crown jewel of a month full of highlights for Daylen Lile. I cannot wait to see what the young outfielder has in store for us in 2026.

Sure, it was not a great year for the Nats. That does not mean that there were no fun memories. Some of the Nats young players showed their insane potential. Hopefully 2026 is the year where these guys can put it all together and show consistency.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...he-six-best-washington-nationals-moments-2025

 

[Washington Nationals]

Where will the Washington Nationals be televised in 2026?

When the clock struck midnight, it marked not only a new year, but also the expiration of the Washington Nationals deal with MASN. The Nationals marriage with MASN was forced upon them by the Orioles as a condition to moving to DC. It has created plenty of tension between the two franchises, but after a settlement last year, the Nats are now free to move on.

Nats and MASN current deal expires in just under 4 hours unless it was extended. pic.twitter.com/OFxhKbZpk7

— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) January 1, 2026

However, this break from MASN also creates uncertainty. Now that the deal has expired, Nats fans do not know where they will be watching their favorite team. The Nats have not found a new TV partner. There are some options that we will discuss and break down.

The first one, which I suspect may happen, would be to just return to MASN. It is telling that the Nats still do not have a new deal lined up yet, or at least not one that is publicly known. Given the struggles of regional sports networks, the Nats TV rights are not likely to be hot commodities.

There is a strong possibility that the Nats return to MASN on a short term deal and then consider their options down the road. Between a potential sale, the looming lockout and more, a lot can change in the next year or so. With that in mind, the Nats may not want to lock themselves down long term.

Feels like a one or two-year bridge deal with MASN is most likely outcome for the Nationals.

MLB presumably intervened when they did so they could sell Nats’ rights as part of broader set of teams to highest bidder in 2028.

Manfred wouldn’t care about them otherwise. https://t.co/sbOaAblm53

— Stars and Strikes – Daily Nats Content (@StarsStrikesBB) January 1, 2026

However, MASN is far from the only option that could be on the table for the Nats. One option that has been floated around is the idea of moving to Monumental Sports. Monumental is a local RSN that is the home of the Capitals and Wizards. On paper, it would make a ton of sense to just add another team to the mix.

The problem with this could be ownership. Monumental is owned by Ted Leonsis, who just so happens to own the Wizards and Caps. There is a good chance he does not have interest in bringing the Nats to Monumental if he does not get a piece of the team. A partial, or even full sale to Leonsis is intriguing given how the Lerner family is running this team. It does not seem to be on the table, at least in the near future.

Another potential option would be selling the streaming rights to ESPN. In a new media rights agreement with ESPN, six teams decided to give their streaming rights to ESPN. A lot of those teams were impacted by the Bally bankruptcy a few years back. With the Nats in limbo, this option could be on the table.

There is also a new development that could be worth tracking. DAZN is reportedly close to acquiring Main Street Sports Group, which owns the TV rights for 29 MLB, NBA and NHL teams. With new ownership, they could be looking to add to their portfolio, and the Nats need a new home.

This could be a new entry in a new network for the Washington Nationals. https://t.co/LxWjQe2hFs

— Talk Nats (@TalkNats) January 1, 2026

There is no guarantee there, but it is worth tracking. Regardless, the Nats TV situation is in a state of limbo. Like so much of the franchise, there are so many unknowns regarding this situation.

Fans deserve easy access to their favorite teams’ games. Ideally, the Nats gain from this financially, but at the end of the day, the fans need to come first here. This is a story we will continue to follow and hopefully it can get resolved soon.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...e-will-washington-nationals-be-televised-2026

 

[Washington Nationals]

Five New Year’s Resolutions for the Washington Nationals

It is officially 2026, and with that comes a new chapter for the Washington Nationals. 2025 was a disappointing year on the field, but a massively important one off of it. 2026 will be the first full year of the Paul Toboni era. Here are some resolutions Toboni and the Nats should have for the new year.

Create a Scouting and Player Development Monster:

In Paul Toboni’s opening press conference, he made his vision very clear. He wanted to create what he called a “scouting and player development monster”. Now it is time to make that goal a reality.

Paul Toboni, #Nats new Pres. of Baseball Ops

35-year-old comes from the Red Sox

Says he's going to create a "scouting and player development monster" & "you win with people"

Owner Mark Lerner: "We want to get back to where we're supposed to be.. don't give up on us"#Natitude pic.twitter.com/85Br99OCGB

— NBC4 Sports (@NBC4Sports) October 1, 2025

This is a concept that excites me, and many other Nats fans. Over the past few years, the Nats player development was lagging behind. Despite picking at the top of drafts and constantly selling at the deadline, Mike Rizzo left behind a below average farm system. He brought in talented players, but those guys did not get the proper development.

With a whole new front office and coaching staff at the MLB and Minor League level, hopefully the results can pick up. There were some success stories like Brad Lord and Daylen Lile, but we need to see more of them. A resolution for this new regime should be unearthing hidden gems.

This Minor League season will be fascinating to follow because of how much emphasis has been placed on development. The 2026 draft will also be a very exciting time for the franchise. Paul Toboni made his name as a scout, so I am excited to see how he approaches that. Nailing the draft and player development will be key for this new regime.

Trade MacKenzie Gore:

Honestly, I would be a bit disappointed if MacKenzie Gore is on the Opening Day roster. With two years of team control left, this offseason feels like the right time to trade him. He has been the Washington Nationals ace the past couple seasons, but given the Nats timeline, a trade makes a ton of sense.

It’s probably a long shot but if the Rangers can somehow swing a trade for MacKenzie Gore, that would be electric.

A left handed starter Texas desperately needs and is still very young

pic.twitter.com/SfVZckWh7S

— SleeperRangers (@SleeperRangers) December 29, 2025

Gore’s swing and miss prowess should give him a strong market despite his inconsistencies. The market for Gore has gotten quiet the past couple of weeks, but hopefully things heat up in the new year.

The Nats have so many needs, and it would be risky to hold on to Gore. They need a first baseman, pitching depth and just a general infusion of talent. Trading Gore would help that cause.

Teams like the Giants, Rangers, Yankees, Mets and Cubs could all be interested in Gore. They all have pieces that would really help the Nats. Waiting until the trade deadline for Gore to build value is tempting, but risky due to injuries. Gore performing in the first half also would not answer any of the biggest questions about him. The time to trade him is now.

Find More Quality Pitching:

Last season, the Nats pitching staff was disastrous. The unit posted a 5.35 staff ERA, the worst in team history. Their fastball heavy approach just did not work last year. It does not seem like the Nats will splash the cash for free agent pitching, but the staff still needs to get better.

One guy who could take a big step in 2026 is Cade Cavalli. He was finally healthy in 2025 and showed flashes. The 27 year old still has some warts, but he has a lot going for him. Cavalli has prototypical size and stuff. Despite that, he did not get the strikeout totals you would expect in the MLB.

Anyone else still holding onto Cade Cavalli stock?
34% Chase% and 4% Barrel% last year were both elite in 10 starts. Gets a lot of whiffs and chases, have a feeling we will see a rise in Ks next year. If he can finally stay healthy, I love the upside@SleeperNats @MallyBall9 pic.twitter.com/C6ImPQwg5E

— Jackson Scudder (@jscud23) November 26, 2025

However, he did a nice job limiting barrels. If he can generate more swing and miss in 2026, he is a real breakout candidate. Cavalli is the most obvious breakout candidate, but he is not the only one.

There are some guys in the bullpen like Jackson Rutledge, Cole Henry and Clayton Beeter who have untapped upside. I am interested to see what Toboni can do with guys like Brad Lord and Josiah Gray in 2026 as well. The Nats need to unlock some of their pitching talent.

Find a Way to Limit James Wood’s Strikeouts:

Don’t get it twisted, James Wood has the talent to be a star. However, his strikeout problems became concerning in the second half. He struck out 39% of the time after the All-Star break. Wood was in a prolonged slump where he looked lost for a long stretch.

We still know the talent is there though. He still hit 31 homers last year and has more in the tank. His quality of contact is exceptional and his opposite field power is jaw dropping. It is easy to envision Wood being a 40+ home run hitter as soon as next year.

Only 4 players in baseball had a wRC+ > 120 and FB% < 28% in 2025

Jacob Wilson
Yandy Diaz
James Wood
Christian Yelich

Now imagine if James Wood wasn’t striking out 32% of the time

We’re talking about a 150 wRC+ player pic.twitter.com/FMe7yJHkwD

— Baseball Unstitched Podcast (@BaseUnstitched) December 15, 2025

We saw him do it for half of the season. He is capable of greatness, he just needs to be consistent. Wood was a borderline MVP caliber player for three months. There is no reason he can’t do that over a full season. As long as that strikeout rate stays below 30%, he should be a star slugger.

Unlock Another Gear in the Stars:

This one relates to the last resolution about Wood, but it also applies to other players. Over the last few years, the Nats best players have shown extremely high high’s, but very low low’s. James Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore are all examples of that.

They come out like a house on fire to start seasons. The first couple months they look like superstars. However, the wheels come off in the second half. If that was the case for just one of these guys, it would be easy to blame the player. However, this was a systemic problem under the new regime.

A goal for the new regime should be to help create consistency. CJ Abrams is a perfect example. Every offseason, he makes adjustments at his winter facility. As the months drag on, it seems like things devolve and he begins to struggle. That is a massive indictment on the previous coaching staff.

With three years of control, this makes me want to hold onto Abrams rather than trade him. I think there is more to unlock in his game. If he can just be what he is in the first half of seasons, that is a star player. I do not want him to find that level with another team.

CJ Abrams has emerged as one of the biggest names on MLB’s trade block. But should the Nationals trade him?@andrewcgolden and I think it’s best to hold off: pic.twitter.com/n9KLrXFQdi

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) December 16, 2025

With MacKenzie Gore, the circumstances are a bit different. He has less control, has more injury risk as a pitcher and is a Boras client. This does not apply to Abrams, so I think Toboni should hold onto him and develop him.

Wrapping Up:

2026 is going to be a year where the new regime plants the seeds for their project. It probably won’t result in a playoff appearance right away, but it should lead to improvement. If we do see the right steps, the pressure goes on to ownership.

Right now, Paul Toboni is clearly all in on creating his scouting and player development monster. However, once those seeds are in place, it will be time to spend. Hopefully that happens once this project gets off the ground.

I am excited to see how this year goes. It is certainly not a World Series or bust year, but for a baseball die hard, it is very exciting. This year will set the stage for what is to come. 2026 is the year where the Nats will build a strong new foundation.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/general/88145/five-new-years-resolutions-for-washington-nationals

 

[Washington Nationals]

Meet Tyler Bell, The Perfect Paul Toboni And Washington Nationals Draft Target

Back in October, I took a look at Paul Toboni’s history of drafts with the Boston Red Sox in hopes of finding a clear trend in his draft philosophy. What I discovered was a tendency to target hitters in the first round, up the middle position players, and big-time strikeout stuff when he does go after pitchers. I laid out 4 prospects who I believed fit those criteria, and the first one I named was switch-hitting shortstop Tyler Bell out of Kentucky, who I just so happened to have being selected by the Nats in my first mock draft of this 2026 draft cycle, which you can check out here.

In my first 2026 MLB Draft mock draft, I have the Nats taking SS Tyler Bell from Kentucky with the 11th pick. Bell was a 2nd rounder by the Rays in ‘24 before going to UK, and is a switch hitter who had plus bat speed and exit velocities as a true freshmanpic.twitter.com/ZXVtgRLsVM

— Paul Cubbage (@PaulCubbage23) December 27, 2025

Bell is different from most other college prospects due to the fact that not only was he picked in the MLB Draft coming out of high school, but he was picked very high, going 66th overall in the 2024 MLB Draft to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays took a risk trying to squeeze in enough prep prospects with their bonus pool money, and it resulted in not enough money being left over to convince Bell to give up his commitment to the Kentucky Wildcats, where he could play 2 seasons and enter the 2026 draft due to being 21 years old the year of his sophomore season. As far as stamps of approval come with prospects, it doesn’t get much better than them having been highly coveted by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Bell played in 56 games in 2025, and in that time, he proved why he has what it takes to be a first-round pick in 2026. As a true freshman in the toughest conference in college baseball, Bell posted a 100 wRC+ (which equates to a .907 OPS, but college baseball is also a hitting paradise), blasted 10 bombs, and played incredible defense at short for the Wildcats. While the results don’t pop off the page, what has many scouts and analysts so excited about Bell is his underlying metrics, which suggest a big breakout coming in 2026.

Bell’s exit velocities were among the best of anyone in the country, ripping the ball from both the left and the right side of the plate. He also does an excellent job at pulling fly balls, helping to maximize his power output. Bell has a very patient approach at the plate, perhaps even too patient sometimes, causing him to miss his pitches. The hit tool will be the determining factor in how high Bell goes in the draft this July, as he struck out 22.3% of the time in 2025 and had a BB/K ratio of just 0.41. I am confident in his second go-around against SEC pitching this spring that he will improve these numbers and make me even more confident in his future hitting ability at the next level.

Defensively, Bell has both a great arm and range at shortstop, handling the position beautifully in 2025 for Kentucky. Fans may be concerned about taking another shortstop when Willits was our first round selection last year, but the reality is the best athletes on the field generally end up playing shortstop, and they should be able to transition to other, easier positions smoothly when they enter pro ball. Bell has both the defensive ability and the athleticism to move to second base or third base in pro ball if needed, and I expect he could handle a corner outfield spot as well if that is where his career takes him.

Everything about Bell’s game, from his athleticism, to his defensive ability at shortstop, to his top-end exit velocities, makes me believe he is the kind of prospect Paul Toboni will be targeting in his first draft with the Washington Nationals. I expect Toboni and his staff will be keeping a keen eye on how he progresses in his second season at Kentucky, and perhaps will even make their way out to Lexington to get a look at him as the 2026 college baseball season gets rolling.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...-toboni-and-washington-nationals-draft-target

 

[Washington Nationals]

Could Luis Perales make an impact for the Washington Nationals earlier than expected?

One of the most interesting moves the Nats have made this offseason is when they acquired Luis Perales from the Red Sox for Jake Bennett. It was a rare prospect for prospect trade, which saw the Nats acquire Perales, who has an electric arm. Jake Bennett was seen as the safer prospect though.

Despite being seen as the riskier prospect of the two, Luis Perales has a chance to be an impactful big leaguer in 2026. It is no secret that the Nationals need bullpen help and if they choose to make Perales a reliever, he could be an impactful one. His frame, velocity and inconsistent control makes the bullpen a natural home.

So far in his professional career Perales has been developed as a starter. He has made 47 career appearances, with 43 of those being starts. If he hits his ceiling, Perales has the chance to be a number two starter. However, he could make a very quick impact if he is unleashed in the bullpen.

His raw stuff is absolutely mesmerizing. Perales showed his stuff was as dynamic as ever coming off of Tommy John Surgery. In his first appearance back, he actually mowed down the Nats Triple-A lineup without even throwing a fastball. Yohandy Morales, Nick Schnell and Trey Lipscomb were quickly dispatched by Perales in his first outing back.

Here’s video of every pitch from Red Sox RHP Luis Perales’s electric debut tonight for Worcester: 1 IP, 3 K. 11 pitches/10 strikes. pic.twitter.com/4CdtkAxodI

— Ian Cundall (@IanCundall) September 18, 2025

As you can see, Perales can dominate when he is on his game. He was not even throwing his fastball, which is probably his best pitch. The heater sits in the upper 90’s and routinely touches triple digits. In the AFL, he hit 100 mph 20 times. The command was spotty, but that is often the last thing to come back in Tommy John recovery.

The numbers were not great for Perales in the AFL, but the flashes were still there. He can totally overwhelm guys who have good contact skills as well. Sam Antonacci is a White Sox prospect known for his hitting ability. Perales mowed him down on three pitches when they faced off. That stuff can play at any level.

Luis Perales blows three pitches by Sam Antonacci to open up the game.

Four seamer at 98.4 MLB
Cutter at 92.3 MPH
Four seamer at 100.3 MPH pic.twitter.com/i7QI8bMYBS

— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) October 14, 2025

Another reason why he could make an impact in 2026 comes down to numbers. Perales already has a spot on the Nats 40 man roster. He also only has one, maybe two option years remaining. Due to his Tommy John Surgery, the Nats may be able to get an extra option year.

Regardless, the Nats do not want to simply waste 40 man roster spots. They are incentivized to use Perales in the big leagues as soon as he is ready. If he is even around the zone, he will be one of the Nats better relievers.

His stuff is just so dominant. The pitch grades absolutely love Perales. His fastball has an elite combination of velocity and carry. That makes it a plus-plus pitch on stuff models. However, he does not command it very well. Perales actually has a better feel for his cutter, which is also a nasty pitch.

Luis Perales (BOS) continues to look excellent following his return from TJS

In the AFL today, his fastball averaged 99 MPH with elite ride and his breaking balls graded out well. The Red Sox have a gem here! pic.twitter.com/egLKrALIQS

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) October 15, 2025

This profile just screams reliever, which is probably why the Red Sox traded him. Jake Bennett is a high probability starter, even if he is unlikely to be anything more than a 4 starter. Perales is a bit more of a mystery box. He could be an inconsistent middle reliever, he could be a closer, or he could be a starter.

One thing the Nats could do is use him in a bullpen role early on while keeping the door open for a return to the rotation down the road. We are seeing more bullpen to rotation conversions in recent years. Perales could be the Nats closer for a while and then move to the rotation down the road.

His arm talent makes him a super exciting pickup for Paul Toboni and the Nats. Despite being pretty raw, he can be in the big leagues quickly. Perales turns 23 in April and has pitched in AAA. It may take him a bit to be acclimated, but I think we will see Luis Perales in a Nats uniform at some point in 2026.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...act-for-washington-nationals-earlier-expected

 

[Washington Nationals]

Can Yohandy Morales make his mark on the Washington Nationals in 2026?

There has been a lot of conversation around what the Nationals could do at the first base position in 2026. Most have assumed that the Nats would bring in some sort of veteran option at the position. Toboni hinted at that idea during the Winter Meetings. However, as we get deeper into the offseason, we need to explore some of the internal solutions.

The guy I want to look at today is Yohandy Morales. Despite having some strong pedigree and decent performance, he has gotten lost in the shuffle a bit. Morales was a second round pick out of the University of Miami back in 2023. He has slowly worked his way up the ladder the last couple of years, making his way to Triple-A in 2025.

Morales has never blown up as a prospect, but he has never been awful either. In his Minor League career, Morales has hit .285 with an .800 OPS. While he has plenty of raw power, it has not totally shown up in games yet, with just 22 homers in 944 professional at bats. When he gets a hold of one, it can go a long way though.

️ YOHANDY MORALES IS ON A TEAR!!! Walk-off 3-run ! pic.twitter.com/B0OYFCFpIG

— Allsports Roc (@AllsportsRoc) July 13, 2025

Drafted as a third baseman, Morales has been playing more first base lately. He can still play some third, but is probably a better fit at first base. As a first baseman, there is going to be a lot of pressure on his bat. There are questions about whether the bat is good enough to survive as an MLB first baseman. That is why he has slowly slid down the Nats prospect rankings.

Right now, Morales is the Nats 21st ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Given his pedigree and solid performance, that seems a bit surprising on face value. However, as you dig into the offensive profile, you begin to find some red flags.

Morales had a strong start to the season at AA, but following a promotion to AAA, he ran into some problems. He began to get exposed a bit by higher level pitching. Morales struck out over 30% of the time and hit the ball on the ground over 50% of the time in Rochester. That is a dangerous combination, especially for a bat first prospect.

Morales actually tapped into more power this year, slugging a career high 15 homers. However, he still has a lot to figure out to become the Nats long term answer at first base. Scouts have concerns about Morales’ long swing, and some think he needs a complete swing change to survive at the next level.

His swing makes him late on a lot of pitches. Morales hardly ever pulls the ball in the air and often gets beat to the spot by premium velocity. With the new regime in place, there is a better chance that Morales can make those necessary adjustments. It did not seem like his swing changed much the past couple years despite the scouts concerns.

Interestingly, Morales has been playing some Winter League ball over in Puerto Rico, and he has been doing well in a small sample size. In his first 7 games, Morales is hitting .387. Puerto Rican winter ball is not as competitive as the Dominican winter league, but it is still nice to see him doing well.

Yohandy Morales in the Puerto Rican League:

7 G
32 PA
12 Hits
.387 AVG
.406 OBP
.548 SLG
.955 OPS
3 2B
3 RBI

The Nationals No. 18 prospect is coming off of a '25 season where he hit 15 HR with a 109 wRC+ between AA/AAA. pic.twitter.com/0DTbFQmBlh

— Tobey Schulman (@tschulmanreport) December 23, 2025

I have my questions about his profile and it is pretty clear he needs to make some adjustments. However, if those adjustments do come, he could be a breakout candidate. The exit velocities are elite, which means he would have plenty of home run power if he put the ball in the air more. At 24 years old, 2026 is going to be a big year for him.

Yohandy Morales is one of the players I am most interested in seeing during Spring Training. This feels like the year where Morales either takes that next step and becomes a big leaguer or becomes a bit of a non-factor in the organization. He has kept his head above water, but this is the year where he needs to prove he can become a big leaguer.

If Morales has a big year, he can stake his claim to the first base spot, but he needs to make improvements. He is at a crossroads in his career right now. The new player development team could be the best thing that has ever happened to him though. I am interested to see how his season goes because it will tell us a lot about him, for better or for worse.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...orales-make-mark-on-washington-nationals-2026

 

[Washington Nationals]

Who will be the Washington Nationals utility infielder in 2026?

One position we have not talked about too much this offseason is the utility infield spot. Bench spots are not the sexiest thing to talk about, but they can be very important. The Nats actually have three players that have a chance to fill that utility infield spot. Those players are Nasim Nunez, Orelvis Martinez and Jose Tena.

Unless the Nats bring in another player, like a Willi Castro, these guys are going to have a camp battle. All three have pretty unique skillsets and would bring different things to the table. How each of these guys perform this spring will tell us a lot about who wins the job.

Right now, you have to say that Nasim Nunez is the favorite to win this job. He has always been a great defender, but Nunez had an unexpected power surge. The defensive ace exploded for four homers in 39 at bats in September, which were the first four of his MLB career.

This really came out of absolutely nowhere because he only had 9 career minor league homers in over 1,500 career at bats. Is this power at all sustainable? If it is, Nunez is a very valuable player. He put up 0.8 fWAR in just 39 games last year. If Nunez can just tread water as a hitter, the defense makes him very valuable.

I hope they find a way to keep Nasim Nunez as a bench piece

The energy he brings is valuable on its own pic.twitter.com/RAk3Pqwg1i

— Kev (@klwoodjr) November 10, 2025

Nunez is also a great clubhouse presence, which is something you want from a bench guy. His energy is contagious and seems to have a strong impact on the other young players. The only real question is the offense because this power could be a blip on the radar. His bat speed was up significantly in 2025, so there is reason to believe he could hit for at least some power. Nunez is a shortstop, but can play second and probably third base. He has also gotten reps in center field before.

The next candidate has a very different profile to Nunez. Orelvis Martinez was a former top 100 prospect for the Blue Jays. However, after a steroid suspension and a rough 2025, he was let go by the club. The Nats picked him up as a minor league free agent and gave him a Spring Training invite. He ranks as the Nats 20th best prospect according to Pipeline.

Martinez can play second or third base, but is known for his jaw dropping power. When he is at his best, Martinez has elite power upside. The 24 year old has hit 123 career minor league home runs. Martinez also destroys left handed pitching, so he could be a platoon partner for Luis Garcia Jr. at second base.

ORELVIS. MARTINEZ. GRAND. SLAM.

469FT | 113.8mph pic.twitter.com/bXSL7vIYMq

— Buffalo Bisons (@BuffaloBisons) April 17, 2024

However, there are some red flags here. After a steroid suspension, his production fell off a cliff in 2025. He posted OPS numbers over .800 in AAA in 2023 and 2024, but that fell to .636 in 2025. Was he just a product of PED’s?

I guess the Nats are willing to find out. He is probably going to start the season in AAA, but if he has a strong spring, he has a chance to win a job. Martinez is not a great defender, but he can play a couple different positions. If he can get back to what he was before 2025, this could be a real nice pickup for the Nats.

The last guy I want to discuss is someone Nats fans should be familiar with. That would be Jose Tena. Since coming over as part of the Lane Thomas trade, Tena has had moments, but has not been able to put it all together.

Things are getting wild!

José Tena puts the @Nationals ahead pic.twitter.com/vRmnQvd78o

— MLB (@MLB) May 6, 2025

He seems like he should be a better hitter than he is. Despite not hitting any homers in the MLB last year, he hits the ball hard. His contact skills are pretty solid as well. However, he has been unable to lift the ball to the pull side in his MLB career. His career air pull percentage of 6.7% is 10% below the league average.

If he can unlock that skill, I think he could be a really nice hitter. The bat is going to have to do the lifting because his glove is not amazing. He can play second base, third base and even shortstop, but he is not great at any of those spots. Tena put up -5 outs above average last year.

Tena seems to be on the outside looking in here. He would be yet another left handed bat on a team that needs righties. Tena does not have the defense of Nunez or the power of Martinez. There are skills here and he could play a role at some point this season, but he will likely start this year at AAA.

If I had to guess, Nasim Nunez would be the Nats utility infielder to start 2025. He just checks the most boxes. Nunez is a stellar defender, which the Nats really need. He also showed some offensive promise down the stretch. There is a chance the hitting was just a flash in the pan, but he deserves a shot as a full time big leaguer.

Nunez should have the job if he has a good spring, but this is a situation worth monitoring. We still don’t know how the new regime values some of these players, so Spring Training will be very interesting. I am looking forward to seeing how this shakes out.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...e-washington-nationals-utility-infielder-2026

 

[Washington Nationals]

What to know about the Washington Nationals 2026 international signings

Every year MLB teams sign youngsters out of Latin America looking for the next Juan Soto or Ronald Acuna. Hitting on these international prospects is an important part of building a strong farm system. The signing deadline for these prospects is on January 15th. Here is what we know about the Nats international free agent class so far.

Despite the fact that these kids are only 16 when they sign, teams have verbal agreements with these players years in advance. You can argue about the morality of that process, but it is what all the teams do. With that in mind, we have a pretty good idea of who the Nats are going to sign on January 15th.

According to reports, the Nats are signing at least 10 players, maybe more. Last season they signed 14 players. So far, last year’s international class is performing better than the prior ones. After hitting on Victor Robles, Luis Garcia Jr., and of course Juan Soto in the span of a few years, the Nats Latin American pipeline has dried up.

We are 14 days away from international signing day! Last Nats class had 14 players. German and De La Cruz posted some of the best numbers in Nats DSL history and Cortesia had a good year when healthy too. I know of 10 signings so far for 2026 hopefully this class is just as good. pic.twitter.com/oK8YzCa45X

— Nationals Source (@NationalsSource) January 2, 2026

The Nats have seen plenty of seven figure signings flame out in recent years. Names like Armando Cruz, Victor Hurtato and Cristhian Vaquero have failed to live up to expectations so far. However, there were some positive signs last year. Marconi German only signed for $400,000, but was one of the most productive players in the DSL. Big money signing Brayan Cortesia also had a solid season in the Dominican.

That brings us to 2026, where the Nationals appear to have two big ticket prospects lined up to sign. Samil Serrano and Isaias Suarez are the Nats biggest signings. Both are Dominican outfielders with projectable skillsets. MLB Pipeline ranks Serrano as the 26th best player in the class and Suarez as the 39th best player.

Baseball America is a bit higher on both of them. In an update that just came out today, Serrano ranked as the 17th best player in the class, while Suarez was ranked 19th. It seems like both are trending upwards which is exciting to see. Hopefully both guys can continue to make big improvements.

Serrano is held in slightly higher regard by both BA and Pipeline. The reason for that is his hitting ability. Scouts see Serrano as a pretty natural hitter with a smooth swing. There is not much power yet, but at 6’3 175 pounds, there is plenty of room for him to add strength. While he is not a burner, scouts like his glove in the outfield. He has great instincts and has a chance to stick in center field.

Here’s another look at OFer Samil Serrano. He’s ranked 26th in pipelines top 50 international prospects and will officially be a National in January. pic.twitter.com/KwCHY0Zmer

— Nationals Source (@NationalsSource) October 3, 2025

Given his lack of speed, there is a chance he moves to a corner. If that happens, his power will have to improve, but he is only 17. There is so much that can happen in these kids’ development. This time last year, we were not talking much about Marconi German, and now he is a major breakout candidate.

Suarez’s game is driven by his natural athleticism. He is a great runner and athlete, which allows him to thrive out in center field. At 6’2 165 pounds, he is also highly projectable. Suarez has the chance to be a plus defender in center field according to BA. The offense appears to be more of a work in progress, but he does have solid tools.

OF Isaias Suarez is going to be one of the top signings in this upcoming IFA class for the Nats. The signing will be official on January 15th. pic.twitter.com/CdVuovOzea

— Nationals Source (@NationalsSource) December 26, 2025

BA notes that he is an aggressive hitter, who scouts are split on offensively. He shows good bat speed and has power upside, but there is risk as well. Suarez seems to be a real boom or bust prospect, even for an IFA. If he hits, he could be a toolsy big league center fielder. However, there is a decent chance he flames out pretty quickly.

In the IFA market, there are always going to be more misses than hits. It is so hard to tell what a player will be at 16 or 17 years old. These kids are still growing both physically and mentally. However, it is still interesting to keep up with this process.

It is not particularly likely, but there is a minuscule chance that Serrano and Suarez are the next Juan Soto and Victor Robles. That is why it is so exciting to follow this stuff. You see plenty of flameouts, but you also might find the next big thing. The Nats will sign Serrano, Suarez and plenty of other IFA prospects on January 15th.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...hington-nationals-2026-international-signings

 

[Washington Nationals]

Could Jacob Young be a surprise trade chip for the Washington Nationals?

It has been a while since the Nats have made a move, but that should change before too long. There are some obvious moves that could occur, like signing a first baseman or trading MacKenzie Gore. However, one move that is not as obvious is trading Jacob Young. It is far from a certainty, but it would be something I would look out for.

Just to be clear, there are not any rumors around a Young trade. This is just something I think could make sense. There are no rumors now, but you could say the same thing about Jose A. Ferrer before he got dealt. Young’s narrow skillset could be more useful for a contender than a rebuilding team.

As we all know, Jacob Young is an elite defender out in center field. Over the past two seasons, Young has compiled 34 outs above average. That is the third most in all of baseball since the start of 2024, only behind Bobby Witt Jr. and Pete Crow-Armstrong. There are no questions about the glove.

Along with grading out very well, Young has a flair for the dramatic. In 2025, Young made some of the craziest catches I have ever seen. His play against the Mets where he kicked the ball into his glove to make the catch was wild. MLB ranked it as the 11th best play of the season. Young had multiple plays inside their top 100.

Top Plays of 2025: No. 11

Jacob Young: kick save and a beauty! pic.twitter.com/4p43nRi8jK

— MLB (@MLB) November 30, 2025

However, things are not as pretty on the offensive side of the ball. He was not amazing offensively in 2024, but did enough to make him quite valuable. A .256 average and .647 OPS is not great, but thanks to his defense, Young put up 2.7 fWAR in 2024. However, he took a step back in 2025, hitting .231 with a .583 OPS. There were long stretches where Young just felt like an automatic out.

He is a slap hitter, who just put the ball on the ground a ton in 2025. This lackluster offensive profile holds him back from being a true everyday player. To his credit, Young has been working on his offensive game this offseason. He went to Driveline, where he has been working on improving his swing mechanics. Hopefully those hours at the facility pay off, but it is far from a guarantee.

Check out Jacob Young putting in work at Driveline:

pic.twitter.com/gC5tGx5OYX

— Kev (@klwoodjr) November 12, 2025

In all honesty, Young is probably more valuable as a role player on a contending team than an everyday starter on a bad team. That is why a trade makes a lot of sense. With James Wood, Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile, Christian Franklin, Robert Hassell and Young, the Nats have a lot of outfielders. They also claimed Joey Wiemer earlier today. This could make Young expendable.

His defensive profile and team control make him an attractive target for teams looking to improve their outfield defense. One team that really stands out to me is the San Francisco Giants. Oracle Park is a big stadium, so a defensive specialist in center field could be attractive to them.

The Giants outfield defense was not good last season, so they could be looking for some improvements. Jung Hoo Lee is the Giants center fielder right now. He is a good player, but I think Young could be a good partner for him.

Lee performed very well against right handed pitching, hitting .276 with a .774 OPS. Meanwhile, Young has been better against left handed pitching in his career. Lee and Young could be an impressive center field platoon in San Francisco.

The Giants also have a pretty deep farm system for the Nats to explore. If the Nats wanted a big league ready arm, they could ask for Blake Tidwell or Carson Whisenhunt. There are also high upside young arms in the system like Jacob Bresnahan, Keyner Martinez and Alberto Laroche.

There are also some offensive pieces I like, such as Parks Harbor and Bo Davidson. If the Nats wanted a big leaguer, guys like Luis Matos or Hayden Birdsong make sense as well. Both of those guys have shown big time flashes, but have not put it all together yet. Birdsong intrigues me because he has all the stuff in the world, but still needs development.

There are a lot of combinations here and a need for the Giants. That is why I like them a lot as a fit. A mock package could be something like Bresnahan and Parks Harbor for Young. The idea of trading Young for Birdsong straight up excites me as well.

Again, the Giants are not the only team that could make a move for Young. There is also a good chance that Jacob Young just does not get traded. I just think this move is more likely than it appears right now. A lot of the Nats offseason moves have just come out of nowhere. This could be the next one.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/nat...-surprise-trade-chip-for-washington-nationals

 

[Washington Nationals]

Washington Nationals hire Jason Sinnarajah as the President of Business Operations

Yesterday Barry Svrluga reported that the Nats hired Jason Sinnarajah as the President of Business Operations. He was previously with the Kansas City Royals and has also worked for the Buffalo Bills. It looks like the new era of Nationals baseball is not just happening on the baseball operations side.

The Nationals are preparing to announce the hiring of Jason Sinnarajah as their president of business operations.

Sinnarajah comes from the Kansas City Royals and also has experience with the Buffalo Bills. He will report to ownership while Paul Toboni runs the baseball side.

— Barry Svrluga (@barrysvrluga) January 5, 2026

Obviously, baseball is more than just a sport, it is also a big business. Sports teams have a business side and a sporting side. Paul Toboni and Ani Kilambi will be running the baseball side of things, while Sinnarajah takes care of the business side.

However, these two sides of the operation are not totally separate either. Both sides of the franchise need to be working together. In a statement, Sinnarajah said he was excited to work alongside Toboni, which I found interesting.

Nationals have announced the hiring of Jason Sinnarajah as president of business operations, a new position at the same level of president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. Was previously Royals’ COO and Bills’ senior VP of business administration. pic.twitter.com/ndSzscvqmK

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) January 6, 2026

Sinnarajah will report directly to ownership and clearly will play a big role in this operation. The business side of baseball is not really in my wheelhouse, but it is clear that he will be a big voice in the organization.

I like that he is an experienced leader who has worked in multiple different sports. He knows what a functioning operation looks like. Hopefully he can bring that here to the Nats.

Sinnarajah will play a big role in shaping what the ballpark experience is like. That was mentioned in the statement. There are certainly ways he could help liven up that experience.

Interestingly, Sinnarajah will not have the ability to hire one of his main deputies. The Nats already hired a chief revenue officer. Chris Zaber was hired from the Pittsburgh Penguins back in August. Assuming those two are aligned, there should not be much of an issue. However, things could get hairy if the alignment is not there.

Another fun part of this hire is the new Indian presence in the Nats organization. Between Sinnarajah and Ani Kilambi, the Nats have hired two men of Indian heritage to major positions in the organization. That is pretty cool and is a sign of baseball’s growth as a sport.

The Washington Nationals are embarking on a new era. That is now extending beyond just the team itself. Obviously, the Nats have a new front office and coaching staff, but their rebuild is expanding beyond that. The Lerner family is also rebuilding the business side of the operation as well. Hiring Jason Sinnarajah as the President of Business Operations is proof of that.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...n-sinnarajah-as-president-business-operations

 

[Washington Nationals]

What Would A Successful Rookie Season Look Like For Harry Ford?

After 4.5 years with Keibert Ruiz taking the bulk of the catching responsibilities, the Nationals will enter the 2026 season likely with a new starting catcher in Harry Ford, acquired from the Seattle Mariners this offseason for Jose A. Ferrer.

Ford brings with him a background of strong hitting performance in the minor leagues, led by his plus hit tool and solid power. Turning 23 before the beginning of the 2026 season, Ford is finally going to get a chance to be the regular backstop at the big league level, after being blocked by Cal Raleigh in the Mariners organization for many years.

With Ford now being the second-highest-ranked hitting prospect in the Nationals organization and the one who is closest to helping the big league club, there are lots of expectations. There will be sectors of fans who don’t expect too much from him and will just want to see him improve as the season goes along, and there will be fans who expect Ford to be a savior for this franchise and look like a rookie of the year candidate. But what would a truly “successful” rookie season look like for Ford?

For starters, projection metrics such as Fangraphs’ Steamer project Ford for a 97 wRC+, 0.3 defensive WAR, and 0.6 fWAR in 50 games played in 2026 (They still have Ruiz listed as the starter on the site, which Nats fans know is extremely unlikely). Extrapolating those numbers out across 125ish games would give Ford 1.5 fWAR in his rookie year campaign, which would tie Keibert Ruiz’s fWAR in his first full season, 2022.

Fangraphs’ other primary projection metric, THE BAT, is lower on Ford’s bat entering 2026, projecting him for an 86 wRC+, but higher on his defense, projecting him for 3.4 defensive WAR, coming out to a projection of 0.8 fWAR in 63 games played. Extrapolating these numbers out gives Ford 1.6 projected fWAR in his rookie campaign, just besting Ruiz’s rookie year fWAR.

Using these metrics, I think it is fair to define a successful rookie season for Harry Ford as one where he puts up at least 1 fWAR. It doesn’t matter how he does it, whether it be his bat that carries him there or his defense, but putting up 1 fWAR in 2026 would not only be a solid building block for Ford entering 2027, it would also be the best production the Nationals have gotten from the catchers position in years, as Ruiz has turned in 3 consecutive negative fWAR seasons.

Another way for Ford’s rookie season to be considered at least semi-successful would be for him to get a full season of reps that better prepare him for the rest of his career. Ford’s defense has always been graded anywhere from average to below average, and he was likely done with catching full-time if he remained with the Mariners organization.

Now with the Nats, Ford has the opportunity to prove he belongs as a full-time backstop and that he can be a positive defender behind the dish. The more reps Ford has at catcher in 2026 and the more mistakes he is allowed to make and grow from, the better off Ford and the Nats will be in the future because of it.

In the end, my only real hope for Harry Ford in his first season as a National is that he becomes acclimated to his new home, gets valuable experience that will set him up for future success, and, hopefully, rakes while he’s at it. It can be hard for young players to pack up everything and move across the country, especially when they have been with a club for 5 years, but I am confident Ford has or will realize what a great opportunity he has with the Nats in front of him.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...successful-rookie-season-look-like-harry-ford

 

[Washington Nationals]

The three Washington Nationals players with the most to prove in 2026

After a disappointing 2025 season and a new regime coming in, most of the Nationals roster has a lot to prove. However, there are some players that are under more pressure than others. Players like CJ Abrams and James Wood had disappointing second halves, but they have still proven themselves. We are going to talk about three players who need to show proof of concept at the MLB level.

These three players are Dylan Crews, Brady House and Robert Hassell III. All of these guys are former top prospects and still quite young. However, they need to show more in 2026 to cement themselves as long term pieces for the Nats. If they do not prove themselves this year, it could be time for some uncomfortable conversations.

In my opinion, Dylan Crews is under the most pressure of anyone on the roster, and it is not particularly close. When Crews was picked second overall in 2023, he was supposed to be the face of the next era of Nationals baseball. Coming out of LSU, Crews was seen as one of the safest prospects in recent memory. His well rounded skillset did not appear to have many holes in it.

However, it has not been smooth sailing for the young outfielder. In 116 career MLB games, Crews is hitting just .211 with a .634 OPS. Even in the minors, Crews never dominated like he did in college. In 575 MILB at bats, Crews has an .800 OPS. That is not bad, but for a guy of his pedigree you would like to see him dominate.

Crews has still shown flashes of his high potential. At his best, Crews can be a spark plug who can do a bit of everything. He can be a fearless player who can turn singles into doubles and make some super fun plays. Crews also has clear power upside, with good bat speed and batted ball data.

High risk, high reward. Hustle double from Dylan Crews! pic.twitter.com/Tlgnd0dqYC

— Nationals Advisory (@nats_advisory) September 8, 2025

He is going to need to put it all together in 2026 though. The Nats have a lot of young outfielders in the organization. If Crews continues to struggle, his playing time might be taken. As a top prospect, Crews will get the benefit of the doubt for a while, but that grace does not last forever. Entering his age 24 season, Crews needs to show he can be a productive big leaguer before it is too late.

At just 22 years old, Brady House still has time on his side. However, his first big league stint was a bit concerning. We knew House had some rawness to his offensive game, but he struggled even more than anticipated. He hit just .234 with a .574 OPS in 73 games. The lack of plate discipline was predictable, but his lack of power was more unexpected.

In 261 at bats, House hit just four home runs. That is not ideal for a player known for his power. Due to his aggressive approach, he is unlikely to ever post great OBP numbers. He also has some swing and miss in his game, striking out 28.5% of the time. With that in mind, House is going to have to hit for power, or else his offensive game cannot function.

He has the raw power and hit 13 homers in 65 AAA games, so we know it is in there. House needs to show that power, or he will lose his grasp on the third base position. On the positive side of things, House is a very good defender at third base. He posted two outs above average last year and looked very comfortable at the hot corner.

Brady House logged 261 at-bats during his rookie season in ‘25…and while the Nats’ 3B struggled with a .574 OPS, he got valuable experience as a 22 y/o + collected 2 OAA.

— Sam Fosberg (@discussbaseball) January 4, 2026

However, you still need to have an offensive game to be a big league third baseman. House is still very young and has the tools. Historically, House has struggled when he reaches a new level before figuring it out in his second attempt. We saw that in Triple-A, where he struggled in 2024 before solving the level in 2025. Hopefully we can see that same progression in the MLB.

While Brady House and Dylan Crews are fighting to hold on to starting positions, Robert Hassell III is looking to hold onto a big league roster spot. Hassell, who was a key piece in the Juan Soto trade, has had an up and down journey through the minor leagues.

Hassell was a top 10 pick back in 2020. He was very good in the lower levels of the minors and established himself as a top 50 prospect. However, the young outfielder struggled with injuries and inconsistencies once he arrived in the Nats organization. He battled with a hamate injury which really impacted his production. Hassell posted OPS numbers below .650 in the minors in 2023 and 2024.

However, he turned a corner in AAA in 2025. While playing in the minor leagues, Hassell hit .310 with an .839 OPS. He was showing more power than he had in a while and looked more like the guy he was when he was in the Padres system.

That production did not translate to the MLB level though. Hassell hit just .223 with a .572 OPS in 70 games. He was known for his pure hitting ability in the minors, but Hassell struck out over 30% of the time at the big league level. That is a massive red flag for a player of his profile.

There were some stretches where Hassell showed flashes. He had a hot run right after being recalled from AAA for his second stint. It was clear he made some adjustments. However, those hot runs never lasted for long. With the Nats crowded outfield room, Hassell will have to perform if he wants to stay in the MLB.

ROBERT HASSELL III CAPS OFF A 10 PITCH AB WITH A 2 RUN SINGLE#Natitude pic.twitter.com/y09EIs8a5q

— SleeperNationals (@SleeperNats) May 31, 2025

He has lost a lot of the luster he had when he arrived in the Soto trade. There is no guarantee that he even makes the roster coming out of spring training. At 24 years old, now is the time for Hassell to show he is a big leaguer.

He will have to find some of that hitting ability he was known for. While Hassell is a solid defender and athlete, he is not elite in that regard either. The clock is ticking for Bobby Barrels. We have to see progress in 2026, or he will become an afterthought.

One of the exciting things about this 2026 team is that so many guys have a ton to prove. We are going to find out a lot about these guys. Paul Toboni seems to be using 2026 to evaluate what he has in house. Surely, he will be taking a close look at these three players. If they do not perform, Dylan Crews, Brady House and Robert Hassell III will be on the hot seat.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...ington-nationals-players-with-most-prove-2026

 

[Washington Nationals]

Baseball America releases Washington Nationals top 30 prospect list

The great folks over at Baseball America just released new top 30 prospect lists for every team entering the 2026 season. Of course, that means the Nats have a new top 30 list. We don’t want to spoil too much, but I just wanted to highlight some of the rankings I found notable.

2026 Top 30 prospect lists are here!

See the rankings for every team: https://t.co/GhfYB6SGaL pic.twitter.com/phHplyL8pn

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) January 7, 2026

If you have not already, make sure to subscribe to Baseball America. It is a great resource for prospect enthusiasts. They have up to date rankings and very good analysis. It is a really high level resource and it makes you a smarter baseball fan.

Getting into the list itself, there is no surprise at the top. Eli Willits is the Nats top prospect, and for good reason. The first overall pick showed his well rounded and polished skillset in his pro debut as a 17 year old. Willits is a top 25 prospect in baseball and a very exciting player for the Nats.

The first surprise on the list is how BA ranks the Nats 2-5 prospects. They have Jarlin Susana at 2, Harry Ford at 3, Luis Perales at 4 and Travis Sykora at 5. I am a bit surprised that Sykora is at the bottom of that group. All of them are in the same tier, but I would have Sykora above a guy like Perales.

However, it makes sense why he is lower. Sykora is likely to miss most, if not all of 2026 due to Tommy John Surgery. While Sykora was dominant in the lower levels, he has only thrown 4.2 innings above High-A and is recovering from an injury. If Sykora were healthy and had established himself in AA, he likely would be at number 2.

With 6 more today, MLB's No. 54 prospect Travis Sykora (@Nationals) has 76 K's in 44.1 IP this season pic.twitter.com/GTUJSQAgoM

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 29, 2025

You can still argue that he should be number two, as that group of prospects are all in the same tier. Sykora has the potential to be a front line starter, but the injury hurts his development. By the time Sykora comes back, he will be entering his age 23 season without much experience above A ball. However, Sykora has the potential to make this ranking look silly.

Going down the list, it is interesting that Seaver King still ranks as the 7th best prospect in the system. The former 10th overall pick had a down year in his first pro season. However, his premium athleticism still gives him a fairly high floor. King also showed some real progress in the Arizona Fall League.

One of the biggest risers in the system is outfielder Sam Petersen. Selected out of Iowa in the 8th round of the 2024 draft, Petersen was fantastic when he was on the field. He only played 57 games, but posted a .910 OPS when he was out there. Notably, he mostly played at High-A Wilmington, which is notoriously pitcher friendly.

Nationals' 2024 8th Rounder Sam Petersen caught my eye last night. Had 3 hits and a SB. I got plus run times on him. Handled 95-96 mph fastballs well and picked up spin. Got a late start to the year coming back from injury, but has been on since joining Wilmington. pic.twitter.com/UDnxIv2hGR

— Chris Clegg (@ChrisCleggMiLB) June 11, 2025

BA was impressed by this, ranking Petersen as the 12th best prospect in the system. They gave him 55 grades for both his hitting ability and his power. In the Nats system, Petersen was able to improve his exit velocities, despite going from metal to wood bats.

If he is able to stay on the field and produce like he did last season, Petersen could make another jump in the rankings. Right now, MLB Pipeline’s list has Petersen as the Nats 26th best prospect. I think BA’s ranking is more appropriate given his tools and production.

Seeing Petersen ahead of guys like Ethan Petry, Yohandy Morales and Caleb Lomavita is new, but it is warranted. He is one of the real sleepers in this system and a guy I love. Entering his age 23 season, I am excited to see what he can do and how much he can climb up the system.

In the bottom half of the list, there are a couple young DSL prospects that excite me. Marconi German is ranked 17th on the BA list after being one of the most productive players in the DSL. He is not the biggest guy, but he has a great feel for hitting and some nice athleticism. If he can produce once he comes stateside, German will shoot up the rankings.

At 28th, BA listed a guy I am not very familiar with in Nauris De La Cruz. The 18 year old was signed last year, and like German he had a strong season in the DSL. BA notes his patient approach at the plate and impressive bat speed. Given his 40 hit tool grade, there is plenty of risk. However, De La Cruz is a name to watch.

Some other rankings I found interesting were Phillip Glasser making the list at 27. He may not have ideal tools, but Glasser is a gamer who has always hit. Glasser can play the infield or outfield, so maybe he can become a bench utility piece.

Caleb Lomavita at 18 was a little lower than I thought. BA notes that he is trending towards being a bat first backup catcher. That is a little disappointing for a guy the Nats spent a high pick on.

Andrew Pinckney all the way at 14 and above a guy like Christian Franklin surprises me a bit. He has some crazy tools, but his hitting ability is a question mark, with BA giving him a 30 hit grade. However, all of his four other tools are 55 or better, with his arm getting an 80 grade. Seems like they think he is a pretty safe bet to become a toolsy fourth outfielder.

One guy who I thought was snubbed from the list was Eriq Swan. He came over as part of the deal that sent Alex Call to the Dodgers. Swan has a big arm, with an upper 90’s fastball and a slider that flashes plus. However, his control is a pretty big question mark and he is already 24 despite not pitching above High-A yet. I see where BA is coming from, but I would put Swan somewhere in the 20’s because of his potential as a reliever.

Overall, this is a very interesting list. You guys should check out the whole thing over on the BA website. Make sure to give them a subscription as well. Their rankings are great and the scouting blurbs they write are even better. If you want to learn more about prospects, make sure to check them out.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/was...a-releases-washington-nationals-prospect-list

 

[Washington Nationals]

Washington Nationals agree to arbitration deals with MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams

Two of the biggest names on the Nationals have avoided arbitration and have come to terms on deals for the 2026 season. Paul Toboni was able to avoid arbitration with both CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore. With their salaries confirmed for 2026, it could potentially kick start trade talks, especially for Gore.

Earlier today, Andrew Golden reported that the Nationals and CJ Abrams agreed to a $4.2 million deal to avoid arbitration. This is Abrams first year in arbitration, which is why the number is a bit lower.

CJ Abrams and the Nationals have agreed at $4.2 million to avoid arbitration, per source.

— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) January 8, 2026

According to the projections, it seems like the Nats got a good deal here. MLB Trade Rumors projected Abrams to make $5.6 million in arbitration. Given it was Abrams first arb year, that projection seemed high. That turned out to be true, as Abrams signed for $1.4 million less than that. It is also good to see the two sides come together to make a deal without any drama.

Relationships can be harmed in the arbitration process. If the two sides can’t come to an agreement, they go to an arbitration court. In that hearing, the team is basically arguing about why they should pay a player less. It does not sound like a fun situation to be in.

While Abrams got less than his projection, MacKenzie Gore made almost a million dollars more than expected. MLB Trade Rumors projected he would make $4.7 million. However, Gore and the Nats agreed to a deal that pays him $5.6 million.

Source: MacKenzie Gore and the Nationals have agreed at $5.6 million to avoid arbitration.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) January 8, 2026

Unlike Abrams, Gore is in his second year of arbitration. Last season, Gore made $2.89 million. After a season where Gore made the All-Star team, he is getting a nice raise. It feels like MLB Trade Rumors projection for Gore would have been more accurate for Abrams and vice versa.

Earlier in the offseason, the Nats agreed to terms with Josiah Gray and Riley Adams. Gray is making $1.35 million, the same amount as last season, which he missed recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Adams is on a split deal that pays him $1 million if he is in the MLB and $500K if he is in the minors.

Luis Garcia Jr., Cade Cavalli and Jake Irvin are the only Nats in arbitration yet to sign. Cavalli and Irvin are in the first year of arbitration, which usually gets handled smoothly. However, Garcia is later in the process. I would not be surprised if the Nats go to arbitration with Garcia.

The $7 million dollar projection for Garcia is high, which is why he was considered a non-tender candidate. However, the Nats decided to tender him a contract. It is likely that the Nats will want to get Garcia on a deal under that $7 million number. We will see how that goes.

Arbitration is an important part of the offseason and these deals give us a better picture of the Nats salary structure. It may also help facilitate a MacKenzie Gore trade now that other teams know what he is making next year and do not have to have an arbitration battle. We will update you guys if other players sign.

UPDATE: The Nationals have announced they have signed deals with Abrams, Gore and Jake Irvin. They have until 8 PM to come to agreements with Cavalli and Garcia. Irvin’s deal is at $2.8 million.

The Nationals have avoided salary arbitration and agreed to terms on one-year contracts with the following players:

-CJ Abrams
-MacKenzie Gore
-Jake Irvin

— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) January 8, 2026

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/lat...ee-arbitration-deals-mackenzie-gore-cj-abrams

 

[Washington Nationals]

After the Edward Cabrera trade will the Washington Nationals move MacKenzie Gore soon?

Yesterday, we saw a big name starting pitcher get traded by an NL East team, but it was not MacKenzie Gore. Instead, the Marlins decided to trade Edward Cabrera to the Cubs for a prospect package headlined by outfielder Owen Caissie. This takes another potential Gore suitor out of contention, while also setting the market for the left hander.

TRADE The Cubs are trading their No. 1 prospect, OF Owen Caissie, plus two more prospects to the Marlins in exchange for RHP Edward Cabrera, per multiple reports pic.twitter.com/VXhWyviqCQ

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) January 7, 2026

Like Shane Baz, who was traded a couple weeks ago, Cabrera’s trade value is comparable to Gore’s. That means it is important to keep an eye on the package. In the Baz trade, the Rays went for quantity over quality. There was not a true headliner in that package, but the Rays got five solid pieces.

The Marlins went for a different approach. Owen Caissie was by far the most valuable piece in the return. He is a top 50 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and has already made his MLB debut. Caissie has spent multiple years in AAA and would have gotten more time in the MLB if the Cubs did not have such a crowded outfield.

The Marlins decided to pick up a plug and play option for their outfield which also has a very high ceiling. Neither of the other two pieces in the deal are anything special, but Caissie is a big get for the Fish. The Cabrera and Baz deals give the Nats two different routes to explore in a Gore deal. They can go for quantity and deepen their system while hoping one of the guys breaks out. The other option is to take a swing on a true blue chip guy.

I would prefer to chase the blue chip talent. If a guy like Bryce Eldridge from the Giants is available, I would take a big swing on him. It is important to note that Gore probably has slightly more value than Cabrera and Baz. Cabrera was the most effective of the three pitchers in 2025, but has pretty serious injury question marks. Baz also has injury concerns and is not a proven commodity.

Gore provides teams with a greater proof of concept, as well as serious upside. He has thrown at least 135 innings in each of the last three seasons. Gore has also shown an All-Star ceiling. Despite having a bit less team control than Baz or Cabrera, he should be slightly more valuable. Paul Toboni seems to understand this, with Chelsea Janes saying his asking price is high.

Cabrera is a year older than MacKenzie Gore with less reliable health track record and one more year of control. Keep hearing Nats are asking the moon for Gore. Seeing this return — as well as the return Rays got for three years of Shane Baz — makes me think they’re right to https://t.co/23WHmy2BN5

— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) January 7, 2026

That high asking price is probably why Gore has not been dealt yet. Sure, he has question marks, but Baz and Cabrera also do. It seems like Toboni wants a decent bit more in return for Gore than those guys got. That makes sense and good for Toboni for sticking to his guns.

When Gore is right, he can be one of the better left handed starters in the sport. Over the last two seasons, Gore is one of six southpaws with a k/9 over 10. The other five names are some of the premier starters in our game. This shows just how high Gore’s upside is.

MacKenzie Gore is 1 of 6 left-handed SP with 10+ K/9 over the past two seasons

One of the nastiest southpaws in the sport could be on the move this offseason pic.twitter.com/THdjDeQZZT

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) January 7, 2026

As Nats fans know, Gore has not put it all together yet. It looked like he had in 2025, when he made his first All-Star team. However, Gore fell off a cliff in the second half, a common theme for the southpaw. Hitting a wall midseason has become an alarming pattern for Gore, and it is something rival teams are well aware of.

Despite this, as well as Gore only having two years of team control, the Nats do not have to move him. Lance Brozdowski pointed out that Toboni might want to make some adjustments with Gore to improve his value going into the deadline. He pointed to dropping his fastball usage as an example of something they could do.

Have to wonder whether Toboni + Mathews see adjustments to make him even better (stop throwing so much fastball) and the price is the same or more come deadline, right?

— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) January 7, 2026

There is logic here, but it is also quite risky. Pitchers come with serious injury risk, and if Gore suffers a major injury, the value would be pretty much gone. Gore would have to stay healthy and pitch very well for this gamble to pay off.

Even if Gore does pitch well in the first half, how much would that prove? We have seen Gore come out of the gates red hot the past few seasons. Teams know what Gore can do the first 2-3 months of the season. Would a strong first half really improve his value that much?

Teams value what they have seen most recently, but they will also be aware of Gore’s history. If Gore’s success comes with usage tweaks, that could help calm doubts, but they would still exist. I think the Nats should trade Gore this offseason and get what they can.

There is a chance that Gore has more value at the deadline, but that is a major risk. He would have to stay healthy, perform very well with a new arsenal and have a team that is willing to look past his history of second half woes. I don’t think the difference in value will be enough to make up for the risk.

With starting pitchers coming off the board, there should be plenty of teams calling the Nats about Gore. The Giants and Yankees are two teams that would certainly be interested. I still like my theory that the A’s could be a surprise suitor as well.

Regardless of the suitors, I think the Nats should be looking to move Gore. If the offers are not there, you can hold onto him. However, I would be pretty surprised if teams are not very interested in him. They are probably able to get slightly more than the returns for Cabrera and Baz. Assuming that is on the table, the Nats should trade MacKenzie Gore.

Source: https://www.federalbaseball.com/gen...washington-nationals-move-mackenzie-gore-soon