To say that the Washington Nationals are on the rise again as an organization would be a little bit of an understatement. With a rising farm system that has gained a ton of respect throughout the industry as they have done nothing but bring in new prospects and talent, the future is bright for the Nationals. Combine that with a surprisingly decent team in the big leagues, and the future looks even brighter.
For a team that was more known for cranking out draft failures under their previous regime with Mike Rizzo, one of the most refreshing parts of the new front office has been watching draft picks from before Paul Toboni and company came in find success. There have been many stories like that already, specifically with top prospects like Seaver King, but there have also been other guys like the newest National, who has come out of nowhere to earn his shot.
Nationals select Erik Tolman for MLB debut; Yovanny Cruz demoted
The Nationals have selected lefty Erik Tolman, who joined the bullpen earlier this week, where he will wait for the right opportunity to make his MLB debut. As the corresponding move, the Nationals have optioned flamethrowing righty Yovanny Cruz, who came over in the Luis Garcia Jr. trade from the New York Yankees, down to AAA Rochester.
Tolman, a former 14th-round pick of the Nationals back in 2021 out of Arizona State University, has faced a ton of adversity on his way to making the big leagues. He has had Tommy John Surgery multiple times, and also suffered a severe lower-body injury where he tore his ACL, PCL, LCL, and had his hamstring tear off the bone, which resulted in some nerve damage in his right foot.
As he has detailed, it was actually a very serious procedure that completely changed his life, and has still left him with the relative inability to feel the top of his foot, and he had to teach himself how to walk again. This is the kind of adversity that would prevent 99.9% of people in the world to give up on their dreams, but not Tolman.
sooooooo ...... no winter ball? pic.twitter.com/N5iqKgUsoL
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 19, 2026
He stayed the course and now will get an opportunity to pitch in the big leagues for the organization that gave him a chance despite undergoing his first Tommy John operation while in his final year at Arizona State. To his credit, Tolman pitched to a 3.67 ERA and 1.254 WHIP across 95.2 innings in 2025, while bouncing around from Low-A to AA. In 2026, the numbers have not been as pretty as he has exclusively pitched for AAA Rochester, as he owns a 5.23 ERA and 1.613 WHIP across 31.0 innings.
However, he has struck out 42 batters in those 31.0 innings, and this current regime clearly believes that Tolman has some untapped potential that can legitimately add value to their bullpen. He has been with the team for the series in Texas so far, but has yet to appear. Perhaps tonight, Tolman will get the chance to reap the benefits of all of his hard work and dedication.
What are your expectations for Erik Tolman once he gets his first action in the big leagues with the Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
Add us as a preferred source on Google