When the Nats traded MacKenzie Gore, the piece people talked about the most was Gavin Fien. It makes sense, Fien was the 12th pick in the 2025 draft and has been a famous name for a while. However, I think there is a solid chance that Devin Fitz-Gerald ends up being the real prize of the return.
The early signs are sure pointing in that direction. Fien struggled in his first four games in Low-A, and then missed the last week for unknown reasons. Meanwhile, Fitz-Gerald has taken to High-A like a duck
to water as a 20 year old with limited professional experience.
It is way too early to make any real declarations, and I am not giving up any of my Gavin Fien stock after just four rough games. For Fitz-Gerald though, he seems like he is on the road to being a top 100 prospect. After the graduation of Astros prospect Brice Matthews, Fitz-Gerald is now one of the top 10 second base prospects in all of baseball.
I anticipate that his stock will continue to rise, and there is a chance he will become a top 100 prospect. It was a slight surprise to see Fitz-Gerald assigned to High-A Wilmington. He only played 41 games last year in his first pro season, which was cut short by injuries. Fitz-Gerald spent 31 of those games in rookie ball and just 10 in Low-A.
Despite only playing 10 Low-A games, the Nationals were comfortable assigning him to High-A Wilmington, which is not only a level higher, but also a ball park that is notoriously tough on hitters. The Nats stockpile of young infield talent forced their hand a bit, but the fact they were comfortable sending Fitz-Gerald to High-A shows their confidence level in him.
So far, their faith is being rewarded. Through his first 30 at bats, Fitz-Gerald is hitting .333 with a .944 OPS. He also has five walks to just five strikeouts. The switch hitting infielder is showing his advanced hitting chops despite being assigned to a tough level.
Fitz-Gerald has a nice combination of pure hitting ability and power. In high school, Fitz-Gerald was seen as a contact first player, but showed surprising pull side power in his pro debut. We saw that pull side power on display when he hit his first High-A home run last week against Yankees prospect and former Nats farm hand Sean Paul Linan.
That home run was a real thing of beauty. His left handed set up and toe tap kind of remind me of Tigers young phenom Kevin McGonigle. Fitz-Gerald has some similarities to McGonigle with his advanced hitting ability and surprising power. However, the 20 year old has a long way to go if he wants to reach McGonigle’s level.
When you watch Fitz-Gerald play, you can tell he is a gamer who has been around baseball his whole life. His dad Todd is one of the most prominent high school baseball coaches in Florida. He coaches at Stoneman Douglas High School, which has produced players such as Roman Anthony, Jesus Luzardo, Anthony Rizzo and Coby Mayo. Fitz-Gerald hopes to be the next great product of his dad’s program.
There was a podcast recently that had Todd Fitz-Gerald on, which I really enjoyed. They talked about Devin’s development among other things. Todd was not worried about his son’s aggressive assignment because of his confidence in his hitting ability.
That is not just a father hyping up his son, it is just true. Wherever Devin Fitz-Gerald has been, he has hit. None of the concerns about him as a player come from his hitting ability. The questions about Fitz-Gerald come from his average athleticism and defensive home.
Fitz-Gerald played shortstop in high school and with the Rangers, but he is likely to settle in as a second baseman. He is not the twitchiest player, but he has great instincts and enough athleticism to be a good second baseman. In the past, Fitz-Gerald’s power upside was questioned, but those doubts have been answered for the most part. He now projects to be at least a 15 homer bat with the potential for more due to his ability to pull the ball in the air.
Of all the prospects in the Nats system, Devin Fitz-Gerald has one of the fewest question marks. He may not have the athletic upside of some other players in the system, but man can he hit. Fitz-Gerald also gets the most out of his tools due to his baseball IQ.
He has average speed, but already has 7 stolen bases thanks to his great instincts. There could be 15 SB upside here even without great speed due to his ability to make good reads. This is truly your prototypical coaches kid and I think he is the hidden gem of the MacKenzie Gore return. If he is the best player of the five guys the Nats got back from the Rangers, I would not be at all surprised.
