District on Deck's Top 10 Washington Nationals Prospects

Just a little bit over a week ago, I was scrolling through Twitter, or X, whatever you prefer to call it, and came across an article that really served as the entire inspiration for how this piece came together. We talk frequently on this site about Nationals prospects, but this time I decided to combine with all of the other writers on staff here with District on Deck to come up with our consensus Top 10 Washington Nationals Prospects list, and below is how we ended up ranking them.

Before you jump into our rankings, if you have not checked it out already, please go read Federal Baseball's Top 10 Nationals Prospects list to figure out how both of our sites chose what we believe to be the 10 best prospects in the organization. Shoutout to Sam for the work he is doing over there and for building that site back up, go check out their work!

1. OF Dylan Crews

This was our only unanimous selection during our voting process, as everyone on staff here at District on Deck was in agreement that the 2023 second overall pick and future superstar outfielder Dylan Crews is the #1 prospect in the organization. He has all the tools to truly be one of the better players in the league, and he should put himself in position to be a frontrunner for NL Rookie of the Year in 2025.

His all-around game likely will give him a floor of being at least a decent everyday player, with the ceiling to potentially be the cornerstone for this franchise for years to come. If the organization wants to take that next step towards relevance, Crews will have to be one of the key cogs, and none of us here are going to doubt it one bit.

2. RHP Travis Sykora

Our second overall prospect in the organization was the only other slot that was a near unanimous pick, and we decided on righty Travis Sykora. The 20-year-old really ascended up prospect rankings last year, and it culminated with a Carolina League Championship for the Low-A Fredericksburg Nationals, led by Sykora on the bump for the clinching game.

What has impressed me personally the most about Sykora so far is his overall poise and control, as pitching in big games seems to be something that he strongly desires, and that is something you want out of a future ace of the rotation. While he still has awhile to go before reaching the lofty Paul Skenes comparison I gave him last season, the ceiling is probably about as high as any other pitching prospect in the sport right now. He should bump up at least one level this season once he recovers from offseason labrum surgery, and should have no issues picking up back where he left off.

3. RHP Jarlin Susana

Our third prospect in the organization is going to go to Jarlin Susana. The flamethrowing righty went from being a true wild card addition to the Juan Soto trade to a bona fide Top 100 prospect with a ton of high-end starting upside. 2024 was a major step forward for Susana, who earned a promotion to High-A Wilmington and should continue to see his stock rise this year.

His ability to throw hard and miss bats has never been in question, and if he can continue to lower his walk rate and find the strike zone more frequently, he could end the year as a Top 50 prospect in all of baseball. He went from being maybe a guy that could be a closer at best to a guy who, paired with Sykora, could form a devastating 1-2 punch atop the Nationals' rotation for years to come.

4. 3B Brady House

The Nationals' 2021 1st round pick, Brady House, comes in as the #4 prospect in our site's rankings. While the slugging infielder should hopefully be nearing his big league debut, there are still some very legitimate questions to his prospect profile that will need to be figured out before knowing for certain that he will be the guy long-term at the hot corner.

House possesses fantastic power and his defense has continued to get better after moving over to third base from shortstop, but he will need to improve his plate discipline in a big way before he re-enters the MLB Top 100 prospects list. The upside is still there, but it is just not quite as high as the previous 3 names on the list to have him any higher than 4.

5. INF Seaver King

Coming in at #5 on our list is 2024 Nationals 1st round pick, infielder Seaver King. To me, King is a very interesting prospect for this organization to have, and if all goes according to plan in his development, potentially a very useful player to have as well.

He doesn't quite yet have a true home in the field yet, but his glove is solid regardless of position, and if CJ Abrams does not make major strides defensively, I could see King being the shortstop of the future while forcing Abrams to another position. Once his power begins to translate, I can see King progressing quickly through the minors due to his very good defense, baserunning, and contact skills that he already possesses.

6. INF Luke Dickerson

Our 6th overall prospect is a bit of an unknown at this point, but a guy who seemingly has an incredibly high ceiling in infielder Luke Dickerson. Part of the reason why the Nationals selected King in the 1st round was because they knew they would have to go above slot for Dickerson in the 2nd round, and they rewarded him with a $3.8 million deal, the largest bonus ever given to a player selected after the 1st round of the MLB Draft.

This, of course, was to prevent Dickerson from honoring his commitment to the University of Virginia, and it is clear that the organization believes in the 19-year-old infielder. He has yet to make his professional debut, but once he does, he will be a name to monitor as we continue to learn more about his game.

7. 1B/3B Yohandy Morales

At #7, we have a guy who has been a little bit odd to figure out thus far in his professional career, in Yohandy Morales. The corner infielder out of the University of Miami was lauded for his power after he hit 20 homers in his junior season with the Hurricanes, but to this point has hit just 7 homers in 117 minor league games.

The club clearly views him as a guy who can be ready to contribute soon either at third base or first base, and if his power begins to translate as it did late last season when he was finally injury-free, look out. In 2024 he still posted an OPS of almost .750 at AA Harrisburg despite not being healthy for a lot of the season, and we can only hope that he will begin 2025 in similar strong fashion to how he ended 2024.

8. RHP Cade Cavalli

Our 8th overall prospect is going to be righty Cade Cavalli. The 26-year-old is coming up on an interesting situation in his career at this time, and it is truly unclear what the future holds for him in the near future. Nonetheless, finally healthy, Cavalli will be out to prove that he is still the same pitcher who once ranked as a Top 40 prospect in all of baseball.

Since making his MLB debut back in 2022, appearances have been scarce for Cavalli, who has dealt with a slew of injuries and is currently still rehabbing back to full strength from Tommy John Surgery. At this point, it could be fair to wonder if the club will try to move him to a bullpen role, where he could immediately be a dominant option in the late innings.

9. LHP Alex Clemmey

At number 9 we have a guy who was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline in lefty Alex Clemmey. He, of course, was acquired along with Jose Tena in the Lane Thomas trade with the Cleveland Guardians. Clemmey, who has already been ranked in the Top 10 by MLB.com for lefty pitching prospects, has a ton of upside that will make him a fascinating watch coming off of his first full professional season.

He, of course, faces the same issue that many young pitchers have which is an inability to keep his free passes down, and once he gets his control in check he is going to be another guy that could rise very quickly up the rankings. His pure stuff is fantastic, and it will be interesting to see how he develops in his first full season in the Nationals organization.

10. OF Robert Hassell III

Our final name on this list is none other than outfielder Robert Hassell III, who at one point in time was a Top 100 prospect in the sport when he came over in the Juan Soto trade. Since then, nagging wrist and hamate bone injuries have taken away a lot of his power and stunted his growth, but it appears as if his injury woes are finally behind him.

Hassell III is a pure natural hitter with an easy left-handed swing, and if the Arizona Fall League performance he displayed in late 2024 is any indication, he should be in line for his big league debut relatively soon. The Nationals clearly believe that as well, and added him to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft during the Winter Meetings. This year's Spring Training will be huge for him, and if he performs the way we think he can, he might just make the team out of camp.

Just missed: OF Daylen Lile, C Caleb Lomavita

What do you think of our Top 10 Prospect rankings in the Nationals organization? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk, and let us know as a whole on X as well, @DistrictOnDeck.

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