Washington Nationals Top Pitching Prospect Considered 'Ahead of Schedule'
The Washington Nationals pitching staff had a huge boost from young players last season and look to be biding time until their next star pitcher is ready for the show.
MLB prospect experts Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo looked to each team's minor league systems for one stat that stood above the rest. As for the Nationals, it was pitching prospect Travis Sykora's sky-high strikeout rate.
"Washington had high hopes for its '23 third round pick, given his 6-foot-6 size, promising velocity and good splitter. But Sykora may have already put himself ahead of schedule with his huge '24. The 20-year-old struck out 129 batters in 85 innings with Single-A Fredericksburg, and his 39.2 percent K rate topped the 551 Minor League pitchers with at least 80 innings this season."
He was impressive as a whole in his first professional campaign for the Nationals. He posted a 2.33 ERA with a 0.906 WHIP. His K% translated to 13.7 K/9.
The Texas native was a third-round selection of the 2023 MLB draft. Their first rounder, Dylan Crews, is already at the Major league level. Sykora has had a quicker start than second-round selection Yohandy Morales, though.
If that draft was done again today, after a year of results, the large framed pitcher would almost certainly go in the first round.
He ended 2024 as the team's second-overall prospect. Once Crews loses his prospect status, Sykora will vault into the top spot.
As of right now, the potential ace is not expected to make his MLB debut until 2027. His immediate domination has potentially bumped that up a little bit, but there is no need to rush him.
Sticking to the 2027 timeline would have him coming into the league when most of the current Washington pitching staff should really be coming into their own.
There is always a chance that the Nationals need the help in the postseason before then. Pushing Sykora to a bullpen role at first could be a positive. Allowing him to get some reps in without the pressure of making a start would be a soft-landing for him.
The Detroit Tigers did something similar this past season with Jackson Jobe. He is one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball, so they gave him the chance to help out in the postseason as a reliever first.
He got his debut out of the way and immediately got tested. He'll come back as a starter next year and be better for it.
Sykora's stuff would certainly work out of a bullpen. His fastball was in the triple digits before the draft and sits in the high 90s still.
One season is a relatively small sample size, but it was too exciting to ignore. He once looked like a long term project, but could actually be a very quick turnaround player.
