While it lacks the thump it once had when James Wood and Dylan Crews were atop the rankings, the Nationals’ farm system is currently the deepest it has ever been, and certainly in a better spot than where it was this time last year. Opinions on the farm range, as Keith Law of The Athletic ranked the Nats farm 6th best in baseball, and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN ranked it 14th, but the overall sentiment remains: the future looks brighter than before for the Nats, even if the present is not where they
hoped to be.
The farm system has seen a big boost this offseason from prospects acquired in deals for players such as MacKenzie Gore, Jose A. Ferrer, and Jake Bennett, and there is still the potential of more to come, with Paul Toboni taking calls on other major leaguers such as CJ Abrams and Jacob Young. While I don’t expect a deal to get done this winter, perhaps being a move that happens at the trade deadline or next winter, I fully support Toboni looking to maximize this team’s farm system, setting them up for a future run at contention better.
Given all the young talent in the farm system, the fact very little Nats prospects will be graduating from prospect status soon, the potential for one or both of CJ Abrams and Jacob Young to be moved this year, and the Nationals picking 11th in the 2026 MLB Draft, it’s fair to assume this farm system will be in an even better spot at the end of 2026 than it is now. Let’s take a look at how the top of this hypothetical Nationals farm could shake out.
Graduating From Prospect Status
C Harry Ford
1B/DH Abimelec Ortiz
OF Christian Franklin
RHP Luis Perales
1B Yohandy Morales
OF Andrew Pinckney
Given that most of the talent in the Nationals’ farm system is accumulated in the lower levels of the minor leagues, there are very few prospects who are going to lose prospect status in the 2026 season. The only players who are locks to graduate prospect status this season are catcher Harry Ford and first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, both likely to be in the lineup on Opening Day, or soon afterwards at the very least.
Outside of those 2, there are very few prospects near the top of the Nationals’ farm system who I see losing prospect status in 2026, with Luis Perales having the best chance if he lights up Triple-A and debuts midway through the year. After him, it’s an assortment of lower-ranked prospects, such as outfielder Christian Franklin, outfielder Andrew Pinckney, and first baseman Yohandy Morales, who could end up getting enough time in the bigs to make them no longer prospects.
Top 100 Prospects
SS Eli Willits
RHP Travis Sykora
RHP Jarlin Susana
3B Gavin Fien
One of Devin Fitz-Gerald/Seaver King/Landon Harmon/Other
While the Nationals have 4 top 100 prospects currently, with one soon to graduate in Harry Ford, they also have a ton of high upside prospects who could jump into top 100 lists with a strong 2026 campaign. One prospect who I’m highly confident in cementing himself as a top 100 prospect soon is Gavin Fien, the headliner of the return in the MacKenzie Gore trade. While he wasn’t dominant in his 10 professional games in 2025 following the draft, he showed promise and why many analysts are so incredibly high on his bat.
After Fien, there is a long line of young prospects in the Nationals’ farm system who could make the leap from interesting to exciting in 2026. Top of that list may be second baseman Devin Fitz-Gerald, who was scorching Low A pitching in 2025 before a shoulder injury ended his season. After him, plenty of names jump to mind, with Seaver King, who is already a top 100 prospect according to Keith Law, standing out as a prospect who could see a big breakthrough in 2026 with the new coaching staffs in the minor leagues.
New Additions
Prospects From CJ Abrams Trade (Top 100 Prospect + More)
Prospects From Jacob Young Trade (Top 250ish Prospect)
11th Overall Pick (Top 100-150 Prospect)
42nd Overall Pick
78th Overall Pick
There are numerous avenues Paul Toboni and his front office could take to boost the Nat’s farm system, many that us fans wouldn’t even think of right now, but as of now, these are the most likely ways they can do so. If the report that the Nationals turned down a package led by Shortstop Josuar Gonzalez from the Giants, a top 50 prospect in the sport according to some outlets, for CJ Abrams, then we can make the eventual trade return for him to be at the very least in the same ballpark.
Perhaps that does mean getting a deal done for Gonzalez and others with the Giants, perhaps it means a deal centered around a top-ranked pitcher like Bubba Chandler, Seth Hernandez, or Hunter Barco from the Pirates, but whatever it is, I trust this front office to not give in on their demands in the sake of making a deal happen.
The Nationals will also have the opportunity to add a strongly touted prospect in the MLB Draft this July, as they hold the 11th overall pick. While it’s unfortunate that the new lottery rules have once again knocked the Nats out of the top 10, there will still be plenty of highly regarded prospects available at 11th overall, with Bryce Rainer and Braden Montgomery, both consensus top 100 prospects currently, both being selected 11th or later in the 2024 MLB Draft.
While he favored prospects who played up-the-middle positions with his first-rounders during his time in Boston, anything could be on the table for Toboni and his staff this year, depending on how the draft class and draft board shake out.
Mock End of 2026 Top 10 Nationals Prospects
- SS Eli Willits
- SS Josuar Gonzalez
- RHP Travis Sykora
- RHP Jarlin Susana
- 3B Gavin Fien
- 2B Devin Fitz-Gerald
- RHP Cameron Flukey
- SS Seaver King
- RHP Landon Harmon
- OF Bo Davidson
From this hypothetical list, you have 4 surefire top 100 prospects, 3 very close to being top 100s, and 3 more with the talent to be top 100s. While prospect rankings are irrelevant once these players reach the bigs, as then it becomes about your performance and not your potential, the more lottery tickets you can stock up to cash in the big leagues, the better. I’m excited to see what more tricks Paul Toboni has up his sleeve, and how else he’ll stock up the Nationals’ farm system for years to come.
