After a blazing hot start to Devin Fitz-Gerald’s Nationals career, in which he posted a 132 wRC+ and had a May as hot as any month ever from a Nats prospect, he earned a promotion to Double A in early June, simultaneously climbing many top 100 prospect lists. The hit tool looked as advertised, but the sudden increase in power output was a welcome surprise as well, as Fitz-Gerald hit 12 home runs in 51 games at High A.
A slowdown in production is expected when any prospect moves up a level, but to
say Devin Fitz-Gerald hit a wall in Double A at first would be an understatement, as from his callup on June 7th to the end of June, he posted a -1 wRC+, hitting .137 with just a .178 slugging percentage. His influx of power output he had in High A suddenly vanished, and it seemed his hit tool and approach went with it, as he was swinging at everything, struggled to draw walks, and struck out too much.
July was an improvement for Fitz-Gerald, as he swung less, leading to more walks and less strikeouts, but he still wasn’t tapping into much of the power which made him a game wrecker at High A, posting a .306 slugging percentage and 82 wRC+ on the month. Through almost two months at Double A, Fitz-Gerald was looking somewhat overmatched, causing some fans and analysts to begin to lose some faith. Others however, who understood the kind of talent they saw earlier in the year, were willing to hold the line and bet on him to figure it out.
Sure enough, August was a breakout month for Fitz-Gerald at Double A. He swung at pitches in the zone about as much as he did in June, but he chased outside the zone 13% less, and made more contact overall when he did swing. The power stroke finally returned for Fitz-Gerald as well, as he swatted 3 home runs in August, as compared to just 1 in June and July combined. Overall, Fitz-Gerald hit .310 and posted a 139 wRC+ in August, much more in line with the numbers he was posting earlier in the season.
There is still questions to be answered about Fitz-Gerald’s profile, such as if he can sustain his power numbers for longer periods of time in the upper minor leagues, but his season teaches us something important when it comes to prospect scouting as a whole: it is important to demonstrate patience with players, especially ones going through changes.
For Fitz-Gerald, that change wasn’t just a promotion to a new level, but dealing with his mother’s tragic cancer diagnosis, and having to be gone from home for months at a time to play baseball. There can be more to a players surface level numbers than meet the eye, and a bad month or two doesn’t mean he should be written off entirely.
I expect Fitz-Gerald will begin the 2027 minor league season at Double A, where hopefully Eli Willits will be next to him playing Shortstop, creating one of the most exciting middle infield prospect duos in Nationals minor league history. With another offseason to bulk and work on his swing, hopefully Fitz-Gerald can continue to add more power output to his game, as when he combines his plus hit tool with the ability to pop balls over the fence, he’s as dangerous a hitter as the Nationals have in their farm system.
