Washington Nationals New Pitching Prospect Off to Hot Start With Franchise
The Washington Nationals were sellers at the MLB trade deadline and have gotten solid returns from at least one of their new prospects.
As the Nationals traded away Jesse Winker to the New York Mets, they received right-handed pitching prospect Tyler Stuart in return.
Stuart debuted in the Washington farm system as their No. 19 overall prospect and fifth right-handed pitcher.
In his three starts since the trade, he's posted a 1.62 ERA with 14.6 K/9 at the Double-A level. He's finally looking like he did to end the 2023 season again, making the Nationals feel good about their acquisition.
Winker was signed to a minor league contract back in February and posted a .257/.374/.419 slashing line with 11 home runs and 45 RBI with Washington. Though his contributions didn't lead to as much winning as they might have hoped, taking a flier on him this past offseason seems to have netted them a solid pitching prospect.
The left fielder has gotten off to a hot start with the Mets as well, so it's a bit of a win-win situation so far as New York fights for a Wild Card berth down the stretch.
Stuart, a 6-foot-9 goliath of a pitcher, played two seasons of college ball at Southern Mississippi. He worked out of the bullpen and didn't do anything world-changing but was a good enough prospect for the Mets to select him in the sixth round of the 2022 MLB draft.
New York promptly made him a starter and the success came quick. He led all qualified minor league pitchers with a 2.20 ERA last year across 110.2 innings.
One great thing that he has shown throughout his pitching career is a low walk rate. He averages just over two walks per nine innings, which would be tied for the best on the Nationals' staff with ace Jake Irvin.
He's always been a solid strikeout guy, not necessarily overwhelming, but a 27-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over this first 16.2 innings of work is incredibly promising.
The 24-year-old has a low-to-mid 90s fastball that he pairs with his best pitch, a slider. He has an okay changeup but the other two pitchs are his mainstays.
More solid performances could find him in Triple-A soon and could potentially see him make his way to the MLB rotation next year. Not a bad return for an outfielder that they only had for a couple of months.