The college baseball season starts today, which means it is officially draft season. I wanted to highlight a few college prospects that could be available for the Nats to select with the 11th pick. It is supposed to be a very good draft this year, so the Nats will have plenty of options.
We have already written about a few prospects the Nats could take like Tyler Bell, Cameron Flukey, Jackson Flora and Chris Hacopian.
The three prospects we are highlighting today are Florida RHP Liam Peterson, TCU outfielder Sawyer Strosnider and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey. All of these players have wide ranges, but have a chance to be the pick for the Nats at 11th overall.
I want to start with Peterson, who is the most famous of the three. Some early rankings had him as the top college pitching prospect in this class, but Cameron Flukey and Jackson Flora are ahead of him on most boards now. As an SEC pitcher, he will be facing a higher caliber of hitter compared to Flora and Flukey, who play at UCSB and Coastal Carolina. That means he could end up being SP1 by the end of the season.
Peterson arguably has the best raw stuff of any pitcher in college baseball. His fastball is in the mid to upper 90’s with explosive life at the top of the zone. He also has two breaking balls with a chance to be plus pitches, showcasing a slider and a 12/6 curve. Peterson also shows a changeup with some promise, but is not as comfortable throwing it. One stuff model actually thinks Peterson is the nastiest returning pitcher in all of college baseball.
Consistent strike throwing is the question mark for Peterson right now. His BB/9 went from over 6 his freshman year to 4.2 as a sophomore. However, that is still a bit higher than you would like. He also allowed more hits than you would think for a guy with his stuff, giving up 67 hits in 69.1 innings. Both Fangraphs and MLB Pipeline note some stiffness and effort in his delivery, which is worth monitoring. That could be why they both rank him at 13th, while Baseball America has him at 9th.
Peterson has very loud stuff, and that could attract Paul Toboni. At 6’5 205 pounds, Peterson also has a prototypical frame. There is a ton of intrigue here, but Peterson will need to perform in his final season at Florida to maintain his stock. He has yet to have a season with an ERA under 4, and that will have to change this year.
The next guy I want to talk about is Sawyer Strosnider, a toolsy outfielder from TCU. Strosnider is a draft eligible sophomore, so he will be younger than most college prospects, having just turned 21 before draft day. He is a freak athlete, with speed and power for days.
Strosnider is not just pure projection though. In his freshman year at TCU, he hit .350 with 11 homers, 10 steals and a 1.070 OPS in 56 games. That made him one of the most productive freshmen in the nation. His speed, power and production make him a tantalizing prospect.
He is not a perfect player though. That is why Fangraphs has him ranked at 15th and Baseball America has him at 18th. Pipeline is the highest on Stronsider, ranking him 9th overall. Both Pipeline and BA note Strosnider’s chase happy approach as a question mark. Fangraphs has some swing and miss concerns, but he was making more contact as the season went on.
Strosnider actually started his college career very slowly, going 5/35 with 17 strikeouts. However, he turned things around after that, hitting .389 with a 14% K rate the rest of the way. Strosnider actually plays right field due to TCU having another high profile outfield prospect in Chase Brunson. He has the tools to play center though, and whoever drafts him will try him out there.
This is a player that could intrigue Paul Toboni. Strosnider has massive tools and big time production. If he has another good season, he could be in the Nats range, and potentially be a top 10 pick.
The last player I want to talk about is Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey. Based on the rankings, he seems like a pretty divisive prospect. Fangraphs is very high on him, with Lackey being their number four overall prospect. Baseball America is much lower on him though, putting the catcher 25th in their rankings. Pipeline is in the middle, ranking him 12th.
With the addition of Harry Ford, the Nats are not as desperate for catching in their system, but Lackey could be a player they like. He is universally praised for his defensive ability and athleticism. Lackey is a lock to stick behind the plate and could be a plus defensive catcher.
However, the offense is where the disagreements come from. Lackey advocates like Fangraphs see him as a good contact hitter with the potential to add average power down the road. However, skeptics are not as convinced by the power and are worried his approach is too passive. He also hits the ball on the ground more than you would like due to his flat swing. Lackey has decent raw power, but will he get to it?
Lackey has only hit 10 home runs in two seasons at Georgia Tech. He also does not have a very long track record. Lackey was not super highly touted coming out of college, and only hit .214 his first year at Georgia Tech. However, he had a huge breakout in 2025, hitting .347 with a .921 OPS.
That makes this season a huge one for Lackey. If he can show his 2025 was not a fluke, he could be an option for the Nats. However, if the power does not come and he takes a slight step back, he will become more of a late first or early second round guy. The defense makes him a high floor prospect, but the bat will determine his ceiling.
This is going to be a very exciting college baseball season. I am going to try to watch as much as I can to monitor these prospects. It is a shame the Nats were not eligible to pick first overall because Roch Cholowsky is the best college shortstop prospect in over a decade. However, there is a ton of talent and depth in this class. I trust Paul Toboni to strike oil here.
