High School Star Projected to be Washington Nationals' Top Prospect Next Year
The Washington Nationals have done a great job of stockpiling high-upside talent over the last few years during their rebuild.
The San Diego Padres can certainly be thanked for their role in that. The package of prospects they traded away in the Juan Soto blockbuster makes up some of their current core at the Major League level.
All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams, left fielder James Wood and ace starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore were all acquired from the Padres. As was outfielder Robert Hassell III, who was San Diego’s top-ranked prospect at the time of the trade. He hasn't yet made his MLB debut but helped his team win an Arizona Fall League title in November.
All four of those players were highly regarded when the Nationals acquired them, and there is plenty more talented youngsters in the pipeline behind them. One of them is Dylan Crews, who got his first taste of the MLB during the 2024 season.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft moved quickly through the Minor League system, appearing in only 135 games before reaching the Big Leagues.
His debut wasn’t as strong as Wood’s, but Crews is oozing with potential. It is why he is the No. 1 prospect not only in the Washington system but in the entire sport as the calendar flips over to 2025.
Soon he will graduate from that list as he is likely going to be the Opening Day right fielder in March. Who will take his spot atop the Nationals prospect pipeline?
Over at MLB.com, Jim Callis has predicted that Ethan Holliday will be the team’s No. 1 ranked prospect at the end of 2025.
Washington was fortunate enough to win the MLB draft lottery, which means having the opportunity to select the uber-talented younger brother of Baltimore Orioles star prospect, Jackson Holliday, who are both the sons of seven-time All-Star, Matt Holliday.
Like Jackson, and unlike their father, Ethan is an infielder, listed as a shortstop/third baseman. Possessing a sweet left-handed swing, he is widely expected to be the first overall pick when the draft rolls around in July.
Should the Nationals select him, they will become the first set of brothers to each be selected with the No. 1 overall pick in sports history. This is the first time since 2010 that Washington will be picking atop the draft.
That year they selected Bryce Harper, following their pick of Stephen Strasburg No. 1 overall in 2009.
Washington can only hope that Holliday, should he be their selection, makes as big of an impact on the franchise as those two players did during their tenures in the nation’s capital.
