Both in the big leagues and on the farm, the Nationals have more hitting talent than pitching. However, that does not mean there are no interesting arms in the system. Today, I wanted to highlight one of the most intriguing arms on the farm in Yoel Tejeda. The 6 ‘8 righty has developed from an ultra raw 15th round pick to a real riser.
Coming out of high school in 2022, Tejeda was a highly regarded two-way prospect. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 217th prospect in that draft, but he decided to follow
through on his commitment to the University of Florida. Tejeda spent one year at Florida and one at Florida State, and struggled at both spots. However, his unique frame and pedigree convinced the Nats to take a flier on him in the 14th round of the 2024 draft.
That decision by the old regime has proven to be a wise one. Right now, MLB Pipeline lists Tejeda as the 14th best prospect in the Nats system. Last season, the big righty spent most of the season in Low-A, where he made huge improvements to his strike-throwing. In college, he walked more hitters than he struck out, but last season, he had a 21.8% K rate and a 7.4% walk rate.
He made some mechanical tweaks that helped his strike-throwing, but saw his velocity more in the low-90’s than the mid-90’s. It was a worthwhile tradeoff, but the hope was that Tejeda would get some of that old velocity back while keeping his command gains. Entering this season, he had some real fans, with some even wondering if he could sneak on to top 100 lists at some point.
This spring we did see Tejeda throwing harder. He was sitting in the mid-90’s, while flirting with the upper 90’s. However, in the Spring Breakout game, his control looked erratic. Those command issues plagued him at the beginning of the season as well. In April, Tejeda posted a 5.60 ERA with 11 walks in 17.2 innings with High-A Wilmington.
As the season has gone on though, Tejeda has made big improvements. He has a 1.38 ERA in five June starts, and is averaging over 5 innings per start. Tejeda has 11 walks in 26 innings, which is on the higher side, but it is manageable, especially when he has 33 strikeouts to go with it. His strikeout rate is hovering around 30% this month, while his walk rate is just under 10%. That is big time stuff, and could get the 22 year old promoted to AA soon.
After doing some digging, it is clear that Tejeda’s stuff has definitely ticked up. Last year, he was sitting in the 92 MPH range. However, this season, he is sitting 94-96 and tops out at 98. Pair that with the massive extension Tejeda gets from being a 6’8 pitcher, and his fastball gets on hitters in a hurry.
To pair with the heater, Tejeda has a sweeper and a shorter slider, as well as a splitter. The breaking balls are his best secondary pitches that he uses to put hitters away. Last season, he had some trouble with left handed hitters, but his splits are much more even in 2026.
This past week might have been the best of Tejeda’s career. He made two starts that covered 10.2 innings, and allowed just one earned run. The massive right hander also struck out 7 in both starts. He is really surging right now, and I think a promotion is on the horizon. Here is a nice interview he did after his start yesterday.
Quite frankly, the Nats are a little light on starting pitching in the majors and minors right now. It does not help that their two best pitching prospects have been out all season, but they need someone to step up. Tejeda is not going to be in the big leagues until late 2027 at the earliest, but he is a pitcher whose stock is on the rise.
Unique is good when it comes to pitching, and Tejeda’s massive frame creates unique challenges for hitters. After being a disappointment in college, Yoel Tejeda Jr. is finally living up to his high school pedigree with the help of the Nats pitching development program. I can’t wait to see how he does the rest of the season and what is next for the towering right hander.
