Paul Toboni has made one thing clear about his vision for the Washington Nationals since being hired in September 2025.
The Nationals' strong farm system is crucial for success.
Toboni has certainly put his money where his mouth is -- according to MLB.com, the Nationals have jumped up 6 spots in the rankings for best farm, from #23 to #17. While that's not earth shattering, that's an impressive start for having been on the job for less than a year, without a superstar to trade in exchange for a haul of top prospects.
Notably, Washington's new regime traded last years "ace" Mackenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers for a haul of five prospects, who are all currently top-25 prospects for the Nats. We can tip our caps to Paul Toboni for that one -- he got a haul for Gore, who hasn't exactly been stellar: 4-5, 4.18 ERA in 14 appearances for the Rangers.
Headlining the return for Washington was infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald (WSH #5 prospect), and infielder Gavin Fien, (WSH #9 prospect).
A pair of infielders that could eventually support Washington's big league outfield of James Wood and Dylan Crews? Sounds great, right?
Fien, drafted 12th overall in the first round by the Rangers in 2025, came into professional baseball as a shortstop. But since joining the Nationals in single-A Fredericksburg, he has yet to appear in the infield at all, let alone shortstop. In fact, through 24 appearances, Fien has 19 appearances in the outfield, splitting time between center and right field (his other 5 appearances came at DH).
But... why?
Unless the Nationals come out and give specifics, we can't know exactly why. But, in this case, the reasoning seems pretty clear.
The Nationals have an absolute logjam of prospects in the infield. Five of their top eight prospects are listed as infielders (including Fien).
That includes #1 pick Eli Willits (Nats #1); Ronny Cruz (Nats #4) acquired from Cubs for Michael Soroka; the aforementioned Devin Fitz-Gerald (Nats #5), 2024 first-round pick Seaver King (Nats #6), and Fien (Nats #8).
That's not including shortstop CJ Abrams, likely bound for his second all star appearance this year, and third baseman Brady House, who is retooling currently in Triple-A.
It's not that Fien cannot play shortstop -- he could have very likely been Corey Seager's replacement in Texas.
Moving Fien to the outfield likely came down to his tools, and the chance to play the same position everyday
Fien's official MiLB profile lists him with a 50 fielding grade, a 50 run grade, and a 60 arm grade -- tied with Ronny Cruz for the highest arm grade out of the 5 infield prospects mentioned above.
I believe Toboni feels comfortable with his current group of infield prospects, and wants to avoid the problem that the big-league team faced in the last two years with the outfield -- a logjam without enough playing time to go around. Nationals fans certainly remember the frustration of playing Alex Call and Jacob Young over James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Daylen Lile last year.
The best thing that a team can do for a prospect is to give them the opportunity to play every day, and by moving Fien to the outfield, I believe Paul Toboni is doing just that.
Yes, Fien is only in single-A, and he's only 19. But now, he's been placed in his own lane: he is the only top-12 prospect to play in the outfield. Now freed from the crowded room of infield prospects, Fien may have a much better shot to make the majors with the Nationals quicker, and stay there for longer.
This is a great problem to have: credit to Paul Toboni for revamping the Nationals farm system, and being an active voice on decisions that need to be made. This move could pay off big for Washington -- another young outfielder in the wings getting ready to join the next-gen Nationals.
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