With Spring Training games underway, Washington Nationals fans have all eyes on the guys set to play roles on the field for the big league team in 2026. They're also keeping watch over the team's top prospects: guys like Eli Willits and Harry Ford are suiting up in the curly W for the first time.
But behind all the big-name stars, role players, and prospect ranking toppers, there's always the little guy--or, in this case, the 6'3" third baseman.
Fans tuning into Nationals.TV for the first time in 2026 on Saturday saw 20-year-old Jorgelys Mota step into the box against Astros right-hander Logan VanWey and obliterate a first-pitch fastball to right-center field. Mota, who didn't so much as have his name on the back of his jersey or even listed on the broadcast scorebug, blasted his first-ever Spring Training home run 434 feet. The ball left the bat at 115 MPH, finishing as the hardest-hit ball in all 16 games played that day. Both marks were ahead of notable power hitters like Junior Caminero and Aaron Judge.
jorgelys mota going from @FXBGNats to crushing spring home runs 💪 pic.twitter.com/BN93FM7rUF
— Nationals Player Development (@Nats_PlayerDev) February 21, 2026
The takeaway here might be lacking at first glance. It's one plate appearance from a prospect ranked outside the Nationals' top 30. But a ball scorched the way this one was, at 20 years old, off a pitcher with big league experience, cannot be taken for granted. Mota was ranked 39th in the organization by FanGraphs prospect evaluators in 2025, assessed a 35+ FV by merit of a fantastic raw power grade but otherwise underwhelming tools. Signing with the team out of the Dominican Republic for $250,000 in 2022, Mota took some time to adjust to Class-A ball but settled in in 2025, slashing .270/.341/.409 with 6 home runs and 25 stolen bases in 81 games. The strikeout rate is still a concerning 30.8%, but Mota has a path to progression up the minor leagues, and the bomb he hit Saturday only reinforces that.
Mota is, for sure, someone worth keeping tabs on going forward. Here's some other things I took away from the past few days.
Mitch making modifications
Mitchell Parker made his first start of the spring on Sunday. It went fine enough; he faced eight batters over two innings, struck out one, and didn't allow anyone to score. What piqued my interest though is what seems to be a new game plan for Parker. He significantly cut down the usage of his fastball, relying on his breaking stuff more against both left- and right-handed hitters, and also dropped his arm angle.
What this means in the immediate remains to be seen. What we do know is that Parker's fastball was about as pedestrian as they come in 2025: averaging 93 MPH with no real interesting movement characteristics, the only thing really of note was his over-the-top arm slot which was neutralized by its flat approach. Of the 204 qualified four-seamers thrown by pitchers in 2025, it had the fourth-lowest whiff rate (and the two guys behind him and one ahead of him all played at Coors Field). Despite all of these factors, Parker threw it 55 percent of the time, with little difference between left- and right-handed hitters.
Dropping the arm slot and slashing the fastball rate in favor of his slider and curveball, if nothing else, shows that the coaching staff is actively working with him and that he's receptive to making changes. Whether or not those changes will be effective, again, remains to be seen. Mitch has a long way to climb after being one of the worst full-time starting pitchers in baseball in 2025.
Brady bashes bombs
It was a high-scoring affair for the Nationals Sunday afternoon at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The Nationals beat the Marlins 16-8, in part due to a pair of charges put into balls by popular breakout candidate and third baseman, Brady House.
The first one, coming with two men on in the first, capped off a long seven-pitch battle with 2022 National League Cy Young winner Sandy Alcántara when he took one of his new sweepers on the outer edge of the plate and launched it 415 feet to center field. That gave the Nats a lead they wouldn't relinquish, but Brady wasn't done: he stepped back up in the 5th and deposited a 1-2 changeup from Evan McKendry into the same part of the ballpark. It's the first multi-homer game for any player this Spring, and it's a promising sign after a lackluster rookie campaign for the team's former top prospect.
After hitting 13 bombs in the first half of the year in the International League in 2025, House came up to stay in the majors but his performance was underwhelming at best. With no shortage of playing time on offer, his walk rate cratered to just 3% as he managed just four home runs in 73 games. House once again doesn't figure to have a ton of competition at the hot corner, and with a new coaching staff behind him, he'll get the chance to hopefully spread his wings and fill out his potential in 2026.