The Washington Nationals are an organization that is going to look a ton different than they have for a long time. Under their previous General Manager and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo, the organization had been competitive for over a decade, but had fallen deeply upon hard times recently.
A big part of what led to the ultimate downfall and demise of Rizzo and his regime was the fact that the organization was very far behind the times in terms of modern technologies. For a long time, the Nationals were seemingly always behind modern trends around the league, from not having VR training headsets to torpedo bats, the organization was always reactive rather than being proactive.
Sometimes, the organization would not even be reactive, as they were seemingly unwilling to adapt in numerous facets, which is a large reason why Rizzo still remains unemployed. Rizzo was an old-fashioned baseball figure who relied heavily on his scouting background, and it was well-known that the Nationals were not adequately adjusted to modern times in areas like scouting, which is why he was fired just a week before the 2025 MLB Draft.
One area they were behind was in technology, including using Trajekt hitting machines that are designed to help with pitch identification. Last year, while the vast majority of the league was speeding to get these machines for their players at all levels if they didn't have them already, the Nationals had no urgency to bring them in, and their results showed.
Under new President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni, the Nationals have already been working hard on modernizing their technology, bringing in Trajek machines to aid in hitting for their youngsters, and the early returns are looking great. Brady House, who homered twice in a game including one off former NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara, is one early beneficiary.
From Grant Paulsen on X, who hosted House on 106.7 The Fan on Monday to discuss numerous things including the new machines: "I love it so far. You're so used to watching film on the guy you are going to face; actually getting to go into the [cage] and hit off him is huge. It prepares me a lot better actually getting to step into the cage."
This just goes to show why there should be some reason for optimism, as the Nationals with modern technology could see a lot of their young stars who were top prospects take that initial next step towards stardom or superstardom. While the record will be subpar, seeing young players perform well will be a long-term victory.
What do you think about Brady House's latest comments about the new direction of the organization? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.