With the 2025 MLB draft about a month removed, a few of the Nationals draft picks are playing in the minor leagues. Since the Nationals went high school heavy at the top of the draft, a lot of their top picks will not play this year. However, Nationals second round pick, former South Carolina star Ethan Petry is playing and dominating the competition.
Petry was the only college player the Nationals took in the first five rounds. That means he will probably be the fastest moving player in this draft
class. Petry was a star slugger at South Carolina for three years, where he hit 54 home runs in his decorated college career.
Petry was a big game hunter in college, taking some of the SEC’s best deep. He homered off of Paul Skenes, Chase Burns and Liam Doyle in his time at South Carolina. Here is the absolute rocket he hit off of Skenes as a freshman.
Facing this kind of competition in college should make him pro-ready. An SEC guy drafted in the top 50 picks should be putting up big numbers in Low-A. Petry has been doing just that so far.
In six games, Petry is hitting .375 with a 1.047 OPS in 24 at bats. He has been hammering the ball to all fields and has been drawing a fair share of walks as well. He looks like a guy who is too good for the level.
That is exactly what you want to see from an SEC slugger like Petry. He should be racing through the lower minors. Petry should not be in Fredericksburg too much longer. In the next couple weeks, we could see him get the call to High-A. If he hits at that level, he could start next season in Double-A.
While Petry is a limited athlete, who is a 1B or DH long term, he has the raw power to hold down one of those spots. Nobody denies Petry’s raw power. Everyone in the industry knows he has at least plus power, with some people considering it plus-plus. He showed off that raw power the other day, hitting an opposite field homer.
For years, the Nationals system has been light on power hitters. There have been good athletes with big batting practice power. However, many of those guys have struggled to translate that into game power. With his college resume, we can have confidence that the power will translate for Petry.
There are other questions though. He has some swing and miss in his game, which has shown up in his pro career. Those highest on him think he can become an average pure hitter with plus or better power. However, people lower on him believe the strikeouts could become a real concern.
Petry’s high end comparison from scouts is Pete Alonso, another hulking slugger with massive power and good enough contact skills. Petry will really need to mash to become a valuable big leaguer, but he is fully capable of doing just that.
It has been a while since the Nationals have had a pure masher like this in their farm system. At first, I questioned the pick a bit because of that lack of defensive value. However, the Nationals desperately need home grown power bats and Petry is just that. After all, chicks do in fact dig the long ball.
