Paul Toboni and his front office have officially completed their first draft class for the Washington Nationals, and while it will be years before we know if it was truly successful or not, my initial reaction is that they did a fantastic job of accumulating both talent and depth in the class. Let’s take a look at the class as a whole, and what each prospect is bringing to the table for the Nats.
Round One: 2B Chris Hacopian Texas A&M
Starting with the big fish, Hacopian can flat-out hit. He only posted
a 116 wRC+ this season for the Aggies after transferring in from Maryland, but his batted ball profile was one of the best in the country, with excellent bat-to-ball skills, plate discipline, and raw power numbers. I am confident not only in his ability to be an above-average big league hitter one day, but to be one sooner than almost anyone from this draft class. It will be interesting to see how the Nats deploy him defensively in pro ball, as the middle infield is quite crowded currently, but he could likely handle third base if needed.
Round Two: OF Chase Brunson TCU
I was especially high on Brunson entering the draft, ranking him 17th on my overall big board, so I was thrilled to see the Nats snag him in round two. In 51 games in 2026, Brunson posted a 131 wRC+, with 10 home runs and 13 stolen bases for the Horned Frogs. He possesses above-average raw power and excels at both getting the ball in the air and to the pullside. The hit tool is roughly average, but the power potential and ability to handle centerfield are what make Brunson so appealing for the Nats.
Round Three: SS Luke Williams Franklin Regional HS (PA)
I was higher than perhaps anyone on Williams entering the draft, ranking my 44th on my big board, so getting him in round three was another pick I’d consider nearly perfect by the Nats. Williams is one of the very best athletes from this year’s high school class, and he displays it with solid power and elite speed. An ankle injury his junior season caused him to miss most of the 2025 summer circuit, meaning data on him against top competition is limited, but the Nats, and I, believe this means they got a steal on a great prep prospect due to limited sample size.
Round Four: RHP Cooper Harris Flower Mound HS (TX)
To cap off an already great day one, the Nats snagged right-handed pitcher Cooper Harris from Flower Mound High School in Texas in the fourth round, another prospect I was higher than most on, ranking him 49th on my big board, fantastic value for a pick outside the top 100. Harris has all the traits of a future big league starter: a big fastball, currently topping 96 MPH with more coming, a repeatable delivery, a feel for spinning breaking balls, and the ability to keep the ball on the ground. With some work to develop 1-2 more pitches in his arsenal, Harris could become one of the highest ranked arms in the Nats farm system.
Rounds 5-10:
5. 3B Daniel Cuvet Miami
6. RHP Cooper Allen UNC Wilmington
7. RHP Gage Peterson App. State
8. RHP Max Hansmann Evansville
9. C Cashel Dugger UCLA
10. OF Nick Williams Michigan State
The Nats kicked things off on day two with third baseman Daniel Cuvet from Miami, a power-hitting righty who has an eerily similar profile to another former Cane, Yohandy Morales. Cuvet has plus power, but will need to make more contact to successfully tap into it enough in pro ball.
Rounds six through eight were about finding upside arms while working on a budget, as money would need to go to afford the Williams and Harris picks from the day before. Allen, a junior righty out of UNC Wilmington, had a 2.79 ERA in 15 starts in 2026, posting a 21.3 K-BB% and 0.62 HR/9, two signs of a pitcher who controls what he can control very well. Peterson posted a 3.28 ERA in 15 starts for App. State, with a strong 29.4 K%, but shakier 10.7 BB%. Hansmann, a senior from Evansville, posted a 3.99 ERA in 15 starts, with a middling 13.7 K-BB%, a money-saving pick mainly from the Nats.
The Nats picked up 2 bats with their final top 10 picks, catcher Cashel Dugger from UCLA and outfielder Nick Williams from Michigan State. The 22-year-old Williams had strong numbers for the Spartans in 2026, hitting .333 with a 130 wRC+, but Dugger is the more interesting one of the two for me, as he is a plus defender behind the dish and displayed an excellent hit tool in 2026. His power output was close to nonexistent in 2026 for the Bruins, but based on his 6’3”, 200-pound frame, there may be more power yet to be unlocked in there.
Rounds 11-20:
11. RHP Weston Moss Texas A&M
12. LHP Matthew Dallas Wake Forest
13. RHP Cody Howard Texas
14. RHP Zack Konstantinovsky Rutgers
15. C Francisco Rivero Canyon del Oro HS (AZ)
16. OF Anthony Murphy Corona HS (CA)
17. SS Isaiah Galason Houston County HS (TX)
18. INF Avery Ortiz Oklahoma State
19. OF Jack Brooks Oregon
20. RHP Anson Seibert Johnson County CC
Rounds 11 through 20 were a mix of dart-throw pitchers and insurance policy hitters for the Nats. Moss is the highest ranked of the four consecutive arms from 11 to 14, a 6’4” righty with a below-average fastball, but excellent secondaries, including a nasty slider. He gets great extension down the mound, so if the Nats can find some way to improve his fastball velocity or shape, he could very well become the Brad Lord of this draft class for the Nats.
The Nats picked up three consecutive high school hitters from picks 15 to 17, and while Murphy and Galason are unlikely to sign unless something goes wrong in the signing process with Williams or Harris, Rivero is interesting. Ranked the 329th prospect on Over-Slot’s high school big board, Rivero was originally going to sign with the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2025, before being denied eligibility by MLB. He moved from Venezuela to Arizona to play ball and become draft-eligible, and the Nats grabbed him in round 14 on Sunday. A strong defensive catcher with a simple swing, there’s a chance the Nats get a deal done with Rivero and prevent him from ever stepping on campus at Arizona.
The Nats finished off their draft class with three more college prospects: 2 hitters and 1 pitcher. In total, the Nationals selected 12 hitters and 8 pitchers in their 2026 draft class, including 15 college prospects and 5 high school ones.
Overall, I thought day one of the Nationals draft was a home run, as they either tied or surpassed their pick value based on my big board rankings. Hacopian was one of the purest hitters from this years draft class, and could be in the Nationals big league lineup as soon as next year. Brunson has plus raw power and the abiltiy to handle centerfield, and is a slight plate approach change away from being one of the best outfielders in the Nationals farm system.
Williams is a tooled-up 18-year-old who could become a valuable big leaguer even if he is just a league average hitter, and I think he has room to become more than that. Harris has every trait you could look for in a high school arm to become a future big league starter, and I think with the Nats organization’s help, he can fill out the rest of his pitch arsenal and become a really fun pitching prospect.
Day two also looked how I hoped it would, snagging one of the better college bats remaining in Daniel Cuvet, a ton of dart throws on pitchers with good stuff, and a few insurance policy high school bats, just in case something goes wrong with signing one of the top 10 round picks.
Based on my limited research so far, I believe one of Allen, Peterson, Moss, or Dallas could wind up being a useful big-league arm for the Nationals one day. I am excited for all these prospects to put pen to paper on their contracts and begin their professional careers in the Nats minor league system.
