In the next edition of my player grading series, I wanted to talk about a player I have been thinking about quite a bit these past couple of days. Brady House did not have a full scale breakout in 2026, but he took a substantial leap forward. He made serious improvements and has put himself in position to fully break out in 2027.
Heading into the season, there was cautious optimism around House, especially after a monster Spring Training. However, he did really struggle in his first taste of big league
action. In 2025, Househit just .234 with a .574 OPS in 73 games. He showed his whiff and chase issues, while also not displaying the power that made him a top prospect.
That put a lot of pressure on House entering 2026. He needed to take a step forward in order to maintain a spot in the Nats future. The best way to describe House’s season is that he held serve. He did not become a star, but he did enough to keep his spot as the third baseman entering next season.
A theme of House’s career is that he gets a little bit better every year without taking a massive jump. That happened again this year. Rather than getting overwhelmed in the big leagues, House held his own. On the season, House hit .247 with a .710 OPS, which is solid but not mindblowing by any means.
There was one area where House was elite though, and that was hitting left handed pitching. On the year, House hit .350 with a .975 OPS against southpaws. He has established a floor as a platoon masher with great tools. Moving forward, he will have to show more against right handed pitching though.
House got protected against righties, but he still got ample opportunities. In 220 AB’s against righties, House hit just .200 with a .586 OPS. Whenever Blake Butera talks about House, he emphasizes that the approach against righties is something that needs to improve.
However, Butera has also said that the 23 year old is just scratching the surface of his potential. This is an idea that I buy into as well. You can see the talent with House, he just needs more consistency.
One thing that stands out to me is House’s batted ball data. His xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard hit rate all rank at least in the 63rd percentile. House actually underperformed his xwOBA by 20 points this season, showing there is more in the tank.
Despite not having great chase or whiff numbers, House makes enough hard contact to make up for that. He also found a way to cut that chase rate by over 2% compared to 2025. This new found discipline helped House’s walk rate go from 2.9% to 8.2%.
Honestly, you can divide House’s season into two parts. After making the team and starting the first six weeks, House was sent down to AAA, where he played 50 games. Before he got sent down, House was hitting .227 with a .681 OPS. That was an improvement on 2025, but still left plenty to be desired. He hit for more power, but still struck out a lot.
In the minors, House was able to work on some things. He hit over .300 in Rochester and was able to develop. House actually hit for the cycle in one game down on the farm. He did his thing and waited for his next shot.
After Curtis Mead got traded, House got that opportunity and was rock solid. He hit .268 with a .738 OPS in the second half. House only hit three home runs, but he was driving the ball from gap to gap. He posted a 104 wRC+ and only struck out 23% of the time.
With 10 home runs on the year, House made strides towards tapping into his impressive raw power. However, I still think there is a lot more to come. While a lot of Nats were pulling and elevating the ball more, House’s GB rate and air pull percentage stayed stable. Hopefully that is an element of his game that will improve in 2027.
If House can elevate more consistently, there is every reason to believe he can be a 25 home run bat. As we saw with that moonshot against Eury Perez, when House gets a hold of a baseball, it flies out of the stadium. The key will be getting to that A swing on a more consistent basis.
Like a lot of his offensive game, House got better against fastballs in 2026, but still could use further improvement. We saw with that swing against Perez, he can time up the heater. House just cannot do it every time right now.
Honestly, the most disappointing part of House’s game in 2026 was his defense. After grading out as a positive defender in 2025, House posted -4 outs above average this year. It was particularly ugly at the beginning of the season. In fact, his defensive struggles were a big reason he got sent down.
To his credit, I thought House’s defense looked a lot better once he came back. There were not as many errors and the routine plays became routine. House has all the tools to be an above average defender, and I think that will happen in time.
Overall, this was a solid but not spectacular season for House. He posted 0.6 fWAR and 0.7 bWAR. That is a step in the right direction, but he has not made it quite yet. With how he finished the season, I have faith in House to make further improvements.
Given his slow but steady progression as a pro, I think House will establish himself as a solid but not spectacular starter in 2027. My expectation is a .740 to .750 OPS with 20-22 homers and around 2-2.5 WAR. House will not get a super high grade, but he had a solid season. As the saying goes, C’s get degrees and I think Brady House had a C+ season.
Season Grade: C+
