With an MLB ETA of 2028, the Washington Nationals are way away from calling up their MLB Pipeline 6th-ranked prospect, shortstop Luke Dickerson. Dickerson, currently 20 years old, was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2024 MLB Draft, which means the team obviously saw potential in him — and he was ranked among the top 50 prospects in his draft class.
According to his MaxPreps profile, which only shows his Senior-year statistics, he proves why he was highly touted. He batted .467, with 49 hits, 24 walks, 46 RBI, 11 doubles, and 18 home runs--he didn't strike out his senior year, and his on-base plus slugging (OPS) was 1.671. These are potential superstar numbers. Of course, high school numbers are higher than professional numbers, but he is a pure hitter with great power and gets on base. He also went 27 for 27 stealing bases in his high school senior year.
I think the shortstop position is one of the hardest positions to play on the field, but Dickerson seems to know what it takes to be a great hitter and fielder. You don't get drafted in the second round and get a $3.8 million signing bonus if the team doesn't see greatness in you. According to his milb.com profile, his signing bonus was the largest after the first round in the signing bonus pool era, which began in 2012. In fact, according to his profile, his 18 home runs tied the state of New Jersey's single-season home run record, held by none other than future Hall of Famer Mike Trout.
It will be interesting to see what the Nationals do with CJ Abrams, and if they extend him when his contract is about to expire, because if they did extend Abrams, what would that mean for Luke Dickerson? Would the Nationals trade him if they were contending for another title as a prospect piece for a superstar? There are many routes the Nationals can take with their pretty loaded farm system, but as it stands right now, I say keep them in the system unless the Nationals are pushing for a postseason spot sometime around late-May through the trade deadline in any given season.
Our team is young, which brings excitement, and I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing Luke Dickerson play shortstop in our Nation's capital in a few years. Despite only batting .208, an OPS of .640, 6 home runs, and 41 RBI across Rookie ball and Low-A this past season, he has the potential, if developed correctly, to become a force in the batter's box and for the whole Nationals' organization.