The Washington Nationals have had a tough year across the organization. Between the firings of longtime General Manager Mike Rizzo and Manager Dave Martinez and the subpar product on the field across most levels of the minors, many fans can't wait for the season to come to an end.
However, things weren't all bad on the farm system, as many prospects in the organization took major steps forward in 2025 in the team's effort to fortify their crop of young talent. The franchise will hopefully be headed in the right direction once their new front office hires are finalized, and hopefully ownership takes the approach suggested by MacKenzie Gore last week.
As is annual tradition, the Nationals announced their 2025 Minor League Players of the Year, and there were a slew of new faces who might clamor to make an impact at the big league level soon. In years past, guys like Travis Sykora and Daylen Lile have won these awards, and we've now seen just how good they can be.
Hitter of the Year
The winner of the first award, the 2025 Hitter of the Year in the system is utilityman Phillip Glasser, who turned in an awesome season. After earning a promotion all the way up to AAA Rochester to end the season, putting him one step away from the big leagues, Glasser likely has a legitimate chance to break camp with the Nationals in 2026. He had a .302/.389/.404 slash line, good for a .793 OPS to go along with 7 homers, 49 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases.
Pitcher of the Year
The second winner, this time the Pitcher of the Year went to righty starter Riley Cornelio, who really came out of nowhere to establish himself as a very legitimate prospect with big league upside. Cornelio finished the year with a 6-7 record, 3.28 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 135 strikeouts in 134.1 innings, while starting 26 of his 27 appearances between High-A Wilmington, AA Harrisburg, and AAA Rochester.
Defensive Player of the Year
The third winner, the Defensive Player of the Year in the organization went to former top international free agent signing Cristhian Vaquero. He made several highlight reel plays both at the dish but especially in the field in what was his best season as a professional yet, but compiled 11 outfield assists, a .984 fielding percentage, 237 put-outs, and 4 double plays turned which allowed him to become a recipient of the award.
Baserunner of the Year
The fourth winner and the organization's baserunner of the year was 2025 top draft pick Seaver King, who utilized his blazing speed to make a huge impact on the bases. While he ran into some trouble at the plate at times during his first full professional season, King stole 30 bags at an 88.2% success rate, and also compiled 30 extra base hits on the season between High-A Wilmington and AA Harrisburg. There is a very real chance he could end next season as the team's starting shortstop if he can find more consistency at the plate, and hopefully he can find that while playing in the Arizona Fall League this offseason.
Nationals Way Award
Last but certainly not least, we have the winner of the 2025 Nationals Way Award, presented annually to a minor league player who exemplifies professionalism, leadership, loyalty, passion, selflessness, durability, determination, and a strong work ethic, demonstrating the core values and standards the Nationals organization upholds, according to the organization.
Andrew Pinckney had an extremely underrated 2025 season, and is doing everything in his power to prove he deserves an opportunity to break into the crowded Nationals outfield picture. He compiled a .269/.348/.431 slash line, good for a .779 OPS across 125 games for Rochester, and also added 20 homers, 66 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases in 39 attempts. Last years winners of this award, Lile and righty Brad Lord, have been major bright spots on the 2025 team, and Pinckney will look to follow in their footsteps in 2026.
Congratulations to our 2025 @MiLB Players of the Year! pic.twitter.com/x5OhhlvtsK
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) September 23, 2025
Congratulations to all of the organization's players of the year! Which future big leaguer are you most looking forward to seeing? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.