Every few months, MLB.com updates their Top 100 Prospects list for the entire sport, listing out all their choices for the next generation of baseball superstars. Some players have shorter times on the list than others, while some guys can spend what feels like an eternity on the list.
Last season, we saw guys like Paul Skenes, Jackson Merrill, James Wood, and Jackson Chourio, among others all graduate from the list and immerse themselves into the big league level with some pretty great levels of success.
At the conclusion of the 2024 season, we saw the Washington Nationals have 4 prospects on the Top 100 List, and for the first installment of 2025, the club now has 3. So who was it that fell off the list, and do they have a chance to get back on it? Let's take a look at the site's picks for the Nationals.
OF Dylan Crews (MLB #4, WSH #1 Prospect)
Outfielder Dylan Crews, who got his first cup of coffee in the big leagues last year, still has his prospect status and currently is one of the favorites to win National League Rookie of the Year. While he ended 2024 as the #1 prospect in baseball, perhaps his slightly underwhelming start to his big league career dropped him a few spots, behind the current favorite for NL Rookie of the Year in Los Angeles Dodgers' righty Roki Sasaki.
Additionally, Crews fell behind a pair of outfielders in Roman Anthony from the Boston Red Sox, and Walker Jenkins from the Minnesota Twins. There is a great chance that we see Anthony lose prospect status this year as well, and his MLB debut will be highly anticipated by baseball fans.
RHP Travis Sykora (MLB #70, WSH #2 Prospect)
I do not know if there is any single pitching prospect who firmly put themself on the map more in the 2024 season than Travis Sykora. The 6'6" righty, who is just 20-years-old and has already established himself as a big game pitcher, is going to be a fascinating prospect to keep our eyes on as he develops. He has all the makings of a future ace of the Nationals, and his delivery brings on major Paul Skenes vibes.
Of course, given that he is still so young and has only pitched at the Low-A level, he has a lot more to prove and likely won't make the big leagues for a couple more years, but we could be talking about a true phenom with his frame, incredible velocity, and dominant strikeout stuff. Sykora is unafraid to pound the strike zone, as evidenced by his 129:27 K:BB ratio, and I would guess he ends the season as a consensus Top 50 prospect, and will at least be at High-A Wilmington, if not higher.
RHP Jarlin Susana (MLB #79, WSH #3 Prospect)
Besides Sykora, who did not quite come out of nowhere due to his draft status, the one other guy who firmly cemented himself on the radar of scouts everywhere in the 2024 season is Jarlin Susana. Since coming over as a bit of a wild card inclusion in the Juan Soto deal along with more established prospect talent in CJ Abrams, James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, and Robert Hassell III, you could argue that nobody in that deal has a higher ceiling than Susana.
Despite not having the most eye-popping statline when you look at his entire body of work in the 2024 season, the way that Susana finished the season turned a ton of heads. Despite a rough beginning of the season that had many wondering when he was going to be moved to the bullpen, Susana went on an absolute tear, and ended up earning a promotion from Low-A Fredericksburg to High-A Wilmington. Overall, he finished with 157 strikeouts in 103.2 innings, and the 2025 season will be a big one for him. If he is able to replicate the way he ended the 2024 season in this upcoming year, we will be talking about another guy who could be much higher on this list by the end of the season.
Just Outside: 3B Brady House (WSH #4), INF Seaver King (WSH #5)
Brady House, who has been considered the future of the hot corner for the Nationals since he was drafted with the 11th overall pick back in 2021, has definitely experienced some growing pains. After a solid but injury-plagued 2023 season that had him firmly entrenched as a Top 100 guy, the 2024 season raised more question marks about his ability to hit better pitching at the upper levels of the minors, and there are some very real swing-and-miss concerns to his game. Staying healthy and getting off to a hot start this year will be key for him to regain his status as a Top 100 prospect, and showing some improved plate discipline should help calm some concerns as well.
Seaver King, the Nationals' 1st-round pick in 2024, should be on this list fairly quickly, with some outlets like The Athletic already having him among their Top 100 (#80). The one part of King's game that has yet to translate since being drafted is the power, but he still posted a .752 OPS at Low-A without hitting a homer in 20 games. Once the power reveals itself a bit, he could fly to the majors due to his slick fielding, defensive versatility, and how solid his other tools are as well. His floor is probably being at least a solid everyday big leaguer, but his ceiling could be much higher.
Which of these prospects are you most excited to watch this season? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.