As we enter 2026, one thing I will be keeping track of this season is the progress of the Nationals top 5 picks in the 2025 draft. Armed with plenty of bonus pool money, the Nationals were able to land five of MLB Pipeline’s top 100 players in last year’s draft. With Paul Toboni bringing in a new development system, I am excited to see who breaks out next year.
Eli Willits, Ethan Petry, Landon Harmon, Miguel Sime Jr., and Coy James were the Nats top 5 picks, and that is quite the haul. The Nats decided
to select Willits first overall on an underslot deal so they could come away with those four players. This strategy allowed the Nats to get plenty of high quality players.
Despite Willits going well underslot, he still has the potential to be the best player in the class. After a strong pro debut as a 17 year old, Willits is the highest ranked 2025 draftee on the MLB Pipeline top 100. He is even ahead of the more famous Ethan Holliday.
Despite being the youngest first overall pick ever, Willits hit the ground running in pro ball. A lot of high school draftees do not play in affiliated ball until the spring after they were drafted. However, Willits was so advanced as a player that the Nats sent him to Low-A.
He rewarded their faith, hitting .300 in 15 games. Willits is just a natural baseball player. He makes a ton of contact from both sides of the plate, while also having a very good eye. Defensively, Willits is very instinctive and can make all the plays at shortstop. He is the definition of a gamer.
Willits is not a perfect prospect though. The power is still a bit of a question mark. He probably will not be a 25 home run guy, but he can add some strength. A comparison I like is Geraldo Perdomo, the shortstop for the Diamondbacks who had an insane 2025 season. Like Willits, Perdomo does not have insane tools, but he is a natural baseball player with great instincts and feel.
Willits should start 2026 at either Low-A or High-A. Due to the glut of young middle infielders, there is a chance that Willits goes to High-A so everyone has a spot. Given his strong numbers at Low-A, he could hold his own at the next level. Even if he starts at Low-A, a promotion to High-A would be on the horizon. Willits’ goal is to be an MLB player by 20 years old.
Even though Willits is the highest ranked player from his draft class right now, he still came at a discount. Despite being picked later, Kade Anderson and Ethan Holliday both commanded larger bonuses. By taking a discount, Willits allowed the Nats to go nuts with their next four picks.
While second rounder Ethan Petry commanded an overslot bonus, his $2.09 million bonus was around the $1.98 million slot value. Petry is your prototypical slugger. At 6’4 235 pounds, he is a menacing presence in the batters box. When he connects with the ball, it goes very far. He has some high profile college home runs against the likes of Paul Skenes, Chase Burns and Liam Doyle.
Petry has played in the outfield, but he is likely to be a first baseman long term. He is not a great mover and while he has a big arm, that is not enough to survive in the outfield. That means he is really going to have to hit.
Like a lot of big sluggers, Petry has some swing and miss in his game. It improved throughout his college career, but he is always going to be a three true outcome slugger. In pro ball, Petry showed impressive patience at the plate. He walked nearly 13% of the time in Low-A.
As the only 2025 draftee in the Arizona Fall League, Petry also showed off his impressive batting eye. Against more advanced pitching, Petry had whiff problems and some trouble tapping into his power. However, his .400 on base percentage was still very impressive.
There are a lot of ways this could go for Petry. He could be a middle of the order slugger, or a guy who does not quite meet the offensive threshold to be an everyday first baseman. Petry should start next season in High-A, and I am interested to follow his progress.
The guy I might be most excited to watch is the Nats third round pick Landon Harmon. Using the money they saved from Willits, the Nats signed Harmon to a $2.5 million signing bonus, which is way over the $1.01 million slot value.
Harmon is a high school right handed pitcher with an electric fastball. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of Travis Sykora, who the Nats took in the 3rd round of the 2023 draft. Harmon has a projectable frame at 6’5 190 pounds. He has room to add at least 20 pounds as he matures.
Despite the skinny frame, Harmon has a big fastball. It sits in the mid-90’s and has touched 99. Scouts consider it a plus pitch due to the velocity, the explosive life on the pitch and the potential of more velocity down the road.
The fastball is certainly the star of the show here. Harmon has shown a slider that projects to be above average, but still needs some work. The changeup also needs plenty of fine tuning. Harmon’s command is good for a high school pitcher, but still could use some improvement. With his live arm and lower effort delivery, he projects to have at least average command though.
Harmon will spend most of this season in Low-A most likely. He may start the season in Rookie Ball depending on what new management thinks he is ready for. Right now, he is the Nats 8th ranked prospect, but he could be a big time riser.
The Nats 4th round pick, Miguel Sime Jr., is another flamethrowing high school righty. Like Harmon, Sime signed for well above slot value. Despite the pick having a slot value of $687k, Sime signed for $2 million.
The similarities between the two pitchers do not stop there though. Like Harmon, Sime’s fastball is his biggest weapon. He throws even harder than Harmon, consistently working in the upper 90’s and even touching triple digits on multiple occasions. The heater also has strong life and could be a plus-plus pitch one day.
Sime’s frame is more similar to Jarlin Susana than Harmon though. At 18, Sime is a massive dude with a 6’4 235 pound frame. That mass allows him to hold his velocity deep into his starts, just like Susana.
Sime is a raw prospect though. He has shown a decent feel to spin, but his curveball and slider are not elite. Occasionally he will uncork a really nice changeup, but the consistency is not there yet. The command is his biggest question mark though. He can be quite erratic at times, but his control was trending in a positive direction last spring.
With his stuff, Sime does not have to paint corners like Greg Maddux. All he has to do is be around the zone enough and not throw it right down the middle. Sime has a massive ceiling and a strong fall back in the bullpen. He is still raw though and will likely start the season in Rookie Ball.
In the 5th round, the Nats had one more trick up their sleeve. At this point, the savings from the Willits selection had been used up, but the Nats wanted one more big name prospect. By taking advantage of senior signings in rounds 6-10, the Nats were able to save enough money to take Coy James in the 5th round.
Around the draft, James had buzz to be an early second or even late first round pick. However, he was seen as a tough signing due to his Ole Miss commitment. Despite being taken in the 5th round, the Nats gave James $2.5 million to sign. The next highest bonus of the fifth round was $1.5 million.
The Nats paid up for James because of his well rounded skillset. While he is a shortstop now, most scouts see his future home being at third or second base. He has good hands and actions, but his range is not the best. Still, he is likely to be a solid defender on the infield.
His bat is the real star of the show though. From a young age, James was known as an advanced hitter. He has a strong combination of hitting ability and power. James has the potential to have above average hitting ability and power. He does chase more than you would like and he was inconsistent in the showcase events.
A strong senior year in high school helped his stock rebound, but there are still some questions. However, James is a good hitter with a nice looking right handed swing. Getting a guy with those tools in the 5th round is very exciting. James did not play in any affiliated games, but he did play on the back fields, where he showed some of that power.
James could be the guy that Luke Dickerson was supposed to be last year. I think he will get his feet wet in rookie ball like Dickerson before quickly moving to Low-A. When James goes to Low-A, Willits would probably get promoted to High-A. While there is some doubt about James’ ability to stick at shortstop, he should get a chance to play there.
Overall, this is an extremely exciting draft class. Given how young all of these guys are, they will be Paul Toboni’s biggest development projects. I am fascinated to see what these guys can do in their first full seasons and how Toboni can help them improve. This has a chance to be a franchise changing draft.
