It's almost poetic that the player in the cover image for this article, Christian Franklin, who is a former prospect of the Chicago Cubs, is one of the main featured players ot my article for today. Over the weekend, The Washington Nationals won a series over the Cubs on the road in Wrigley field in shocking fashion, and Sunday's comeback victory was an instant classic.
The game itself was pretty quiet until the 9th inning, when Robert Hassell III led off with a homer to make the score 3-2 Cubs, before Josh Bell delivered the dramatic moment that shifted the game permanently. He clubbed a 3-run homer into the basket in center field, and have the Nationals a 5-3 lead that would end up becoming a 6-3 victory after Brady House's sacrifice fly. It was a second consecutive series victory for the Nationals, who have now won 5 of their last 6 games.
But in a season that has been so depressing on all levels, with the majority of the team's Top 30 prospects underperforming and the big league club struggling on the whole for the season, who are a few underrated prospects who deserve more love? With all due respect to Sam Peterson, who in my opinion might be the most underrated prospect in the system, he will not be a part of this 3-man list since I wrote an article about him earlier this season.
Christian Franklin - OF
The cover man for this article is none other than Christian Franklin, the 13th-ranked prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline, who came over to the Nationals a little bit over a month ago in the Michael Soroka deal with the Cubs. Since coming over from their organization, Franklin has done nothing but rake, and his pro-ready approach at the dish has only complicated the future outfield picture for the Nationals.
He has a .287/.381/.435 slash line, good for an .816 OPS to go along with 4 homers, 21 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases, and his plate discipline should give him a very serviceable floor as a big leaguer. The issue long-term of course is that the outfield appears to be set with James Wood, Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile, and Robert Hassell III all seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order. But with Crews' continued struggles and Wood potentially moving to DH, the Nationals can get creative to get the 25-year-old Franklin to the majors, as he has very little left to prove in AAA.
Jake Bennett - LHP
The next underrated prospect who deserves more attention in the organization is lefty starter Jake Bennett, currently the 11th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. The 2022 2nd-rounder of the Nationals has battled some injuries in his career, or else he likely would already be in the big leagues. After dominating High-A earlier this year, he was promoted to AA Harrisburg, where he has settled in very nicely.
In 9 starts at AA, he has a 1-2 record, 2.88 ERA, and 1.25 WHIP to go along with a 30:11 K:BB ratio in 40.2 innings. He is missing less bats as he was before his injury, but he seems like a guy who should have a pretty safe floor once he gets promoted to the big leagues. Given the state of the Nationals' rotation, he should be in line to debut at some point in 2026, and might even push to begin next season at AAA if he can finish this season on a high note.
Marconi German - INF
The final prospect I want to talk about is Marconi German, the #27 prospect in the system according to MLB Pipeline. He is a new entry into the team's Top 30 Prospects list, and for good reason. After being the 3rd-highest signing in the team's 2025 international class, German has far and away been the standout of the class so far.
German is just 17-years-old, but as a switch-hitting middle infielder, he has showcased a ton of potential already while playing for the Nationals Dominican Summer League (DSL) team. In 53 games, he posted an outstanding .283/.479/.513 slash line, good for a .992 OPS, to go along with 8 homers, 30 RBIs, 33 stolen bases, and a 43:42 K:BB ratio.
If he can continue to showcase his immense 5-tool potential, he could end up emerging as the leading candidate to be the double play partner of Eli Willits at second base long-term. For his efforts, he was also named to the 2025 DSL All-Star Team, firmly putting him on the radar as the next potential international success story for the Nationals.
Which Nationals prospect do you believe is the most underrated? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.