Washington Nationals Seek New Approach Beginning With 2025 Draft

The Washington Nationals recently fired president of baseball operations and general manager, Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez one week prior to Major League Baseball’s draft where they hold the number one overall pick for the third time in franchise history. While parting ways with Rizzo and Martinez might seem irrational given its timing, decisions needed to be made regarding contract options for the 2026 season by the middle of July. A ball club bursting with young talent, the Nationals have underperformed this season and are presently residing in the divisional basement of the National League East. Will the mandate from ownership be to select a prospect who has the best chance of earning a spot on the major league roster within a year or a potential superstar who might need time to develop in the minor leagues? As interim general manager Mike DeBartolo becomes the most prominent voice in the Nationals’ draft room, he will have to carefully manage the delicate relationship between talent and economics when it comes to the structure of Major League Baseball’s draft.

Luck Favors Washington Nationals In Draft Lottery

After finishing the 2024 season with a 71-91 record, the Nationals entered Major League Baseball’s draft lottery with a 10.2% chance of securing the first overall pick. As luck would have it, the Nationals surpassed three ball clubs with better odds and won the lottery. Positive momentum was building in Washington, DC courtesy of the August 2022 trade of outfielder Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres. Shortstop CJ Abrams, left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore and left fielder James Wood have become cornerstones of the franchise courtesy of the blockbuster trade. Gore and Wood are first-time All-Star Game selections in 2025 while Abrams made his Midsummer Classic debut last year.

Along with outfielder Dylan Crews, the Nationals have assembled an impressive nucleus of talent. Crews, the second pick in Major League Baseball’s 2023 draft out of Louisiana State University, is currently on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain and has struggled to find a rhythm in his first 76 ball games with the Nationals. The 23-year-old Crews is one of four prospects who have received a signing bonus of at least $9,000,000 in Major League Baseball’s draft history. The record of $9,250,000 was set last year by right-handed pitcher Chase Burns of the Cincinnati Reds and outfielder Charlie Condon of the Colorado Rockies.

2025 Bonus Pool For Washington Nationals

According to Jim Callis, senior writer for MLB Pipeline, the Nationals have the fourth-highest bonus pool in this year’s draft of $16,597,800 and the first pick has an $11,075,900 assigned value. Since Major League Baseball shortened its draft to 20 rounds beginning in 2021, the Nationals have surpassed the assigned value for a selection within the first 10 rounds on 12 occasions. Last year marked the first time in the 20-round draft format the Nationals didn’t exceed the assigned value for their first-round selection. Seaver King, a shortstop out of Wake Forest University, was the 10th pick in the draft and the Nationals gave him a $5,150,000 signing bonus with $5,953,800 being the assigned value. Their Competitive Balance Round A selection, catcher Caleb Lomavita from the University of California, Berkeley, was the 39th pick and received a $2,325,000 signing bonus which was $70,000 below the assigned value.

A recent trend has been the quick ascension of draft prospects being promoted to major league rosters. According to Baseball-Reference, six prospects who were selected in last year’s draft have already made their major league debuts this season. Five of them were selected within the first 14 picks. The 2023 draft class will be represented at this year’s All-Star Game by right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates for the second time and shortstop Jack Wilson of the Athletics whose name will appear in the American League’s starting lineup.

Difficult Choice For Washington Nationals

Some experts believe this year’s draft is below average in comparison to previous ones which should slow down the recent trend of prospects making the quick jump to major league rosters. Kade Anderson, a left-handed pitcher from Louisiana State University, might be one of the few draft prospects who could be on a major league roster at some point next season. The Most Outstanding Player from the 2025 College World Series, Anderson led the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One (D1) baseball with 180 strikeouts over 119 innings in 19 games started while posting a 12-1 record according to D1 Baseball. Scouting reports have praised Anderson’s quick arm, athleticism and pitching repertoire. According to Baseball-Reference, the Nationals have selected 39 pitchers over the past four drafts with 37 coming from a junior college or four-year college program.

The other prospect that is high on the Nationals’ draft board is high school infielder Ethan Holliday from Stillwater, Oklahoma. The last name might sound familiar as he is the son of Matt Holliday, a seven-time All-Star outfielder over 15 seasons, and brother of Jackson, a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles who was the first overall pick in Major League Baseball’s 2022 draft. Holliday is projected to be a power-hitting third baseman with an impressive physical presence in the left-handed batter’s box. While viewed as a potential superstar, Holliday is likely a couple of years away from being on a major league roster.

Washington Nationals And Signing Bonus Risk

Regardless of who is overseeing the Nationals, the questions remain the same when it comes to this year’s draft. If the Nationals are looking for a draft prospect who could be ready for Major League Baseball within a year, what is their appetite for risk when it comes to the signing bonus? Do they feel comfortable paying a signing bonus at or near the assigned value? If not for Anderson or Holliday, do they focus their attention on the likes of college left-handed pitchers Jamie Arnold from Florida State University or Liam Doyle from the University of Tennessee with the intention of offering a signing bonus significantly below the assigned value?

If the Washington Nationals believe they are a couple of years away from being a competitive ball club and don’t want to pay an eight-figure signing bonus for Kade Anderson or Ethan Holliday, high school right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez could become an intriguing option. As trepidation surrounds high school pitching prospects for a variety of reasons well beyond injuries, a move of this nature would provide the Nationals with signing bonus flexibility while spreading the savings over their remaining nine picks in the first 10 rounds of the draft. According to MLB Pipeline, the Nationals’ top prospect is right-handed pitcher Travis Sykora, a third-round selection in the 2023 draft out of high school who received a $2,600,000 signing bonus. Regardless of having the first overall pick in Major League Baseball’s 2025 draft, intrigue surrounds the Nationals as questions far outweigh answers when it comes to the future of the franchise.