Stop me if you have heard this one before, but the Washington Nationals have a first base problem. Since the retirement of franchise legend Ryan Zimmerman a few years back it seems like the position has become a revolving door, with a few uninspiring options like Dominic Smith, Joey Gallo, and Nathaniel Lowe all having their crack at manning the cold corner.
However, after the recent decision by the organization to pull the plug on the Nathaniel Lowe experiment earlier this week, the team is in a bit of a bind for the position. Josh Bell has since taken over the everyday role at first, but he is not appearing as if he will be a long-term option. Neither are Paul DeJong or Riley Adams, who both have little to none experience playing the position but have begun to dip their toes into the water for the position defensively before games.
Recent draftees like Ethan Petry, Jacob Walsh, and Hunter Hines are still a decent ways away with barely any professional experience, so who is the guy going to be beyond 2025? While most would say Yohandy Morales, the team's 2nd-rounder back in 2023, his numbers have been largely disappointing save for a few hot stretches. The power has not been there consistently for Morales, and neither have the bat-to-ball skills and overall plate approach.
Enter Nick Schnell, a former Round 1 Compensatory pick by the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2018, who is knocking about as hard as you can knock for being on the doorstep of the big leagues. He signed with the Nationals back in December on a minor league contract, and his numbers in 2025 through 100 games have been pretty spectacular to see.
He owns a .285/.346/.522 slash line, good for an .868 OPS between both levels this season, even appearing in 63 games for AAA Rochester as opposed to just 37 for AA Harrisburg. He leads the organization's minor leagues with 19 homers, 68 RBIs, and 18 stolen bases as well.
In case you were wondering why Schnell has not yet been given a chance to prove himself at the highest level, there could be a few different factors in play. The first is that he is already 25-years-old and is just now having a breakout season in AAA, which could lead to some curiosity as to whether or not he's a late bloomer. This could very easily be the case, but you also have to look at a few more numbers as well. Schnell owns a strikeout rate right around 30%, and also combines that high percentage with just a 7.8% walk rate. Both of those numbers need to improve, especially the strikeout rate, which just can't be that high despite his fantastic counting numbers.
Finally, where do you play him? Obviously, first base needs a hero, but when you're a veteran guy who's not on the 40-man roster and has some serious flaws to his game, it becomes harder to justify DFA'ing someone else to clear a roster spot. Who could be at risk for Schnell to get a chance before September call-ups? It most likely would be Bell, as a DFA similar to Lowe would not have given them an edge. However, if Schnell begins to learn new techniques at first base, a position he has played all but a few handfuls of in his professional career, then suddenly your argument for his inclusion becomes a lot stronger.
Do you want to see Nick Schnell get a chance? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.