Washington Nationals’ Youth Movement Reflected in Top Graduated Prospects
The Washington Nationals have a farm system that is bursting with talent, and it’s reflected in how many prospects turned into players in Baseball America’s final Top 50 rankings for the Class of 2024.
Three Nationals prospects graduated from the site’s prospect rankings and finished among their Top 50 overall, led by outfielder James Wood, who finished No. 3 behind pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Jackson Chourio.
Starting pitchers DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker were ranked No. 36 and No. 37, respectively.
Wood was certainly a possibility for graduation from the start of the season, as he carried a prospect grade of 65 (on the 20-to-80 scouting scale). But Herz and Parker carried grades of 45 and 40, respectively.
Wood, who was acquired by the Nationals in the Juan Soto trade, was called up on July 1 and remained with Washington for the rest of the season. The 22-year-old played in 79 games and slashed .264/.354/.427/.781 with nine home runs and 41 RBI.
Baseball America’s analysts put Wood’s first season in the Majors in simple terms:
“He showed stellar bat speed, hard-hit data and swing decisions in MLB. As his strikeout rate decreases, his output will increase.”
Wood is expected to be the starting left fielder in 2025.
Herz earned his first promotion to the Majors on June 4, was sent back to Triple-A Rochester a month later and was then recalled on July 23. On Sept. 27 he was optioned to the FCL Nationals.
In 19 starts, the 23-year-old went 4-9 with a 4.16 ERA with 106 strikeouts and 36 walks in 88.2 innings. Herz is expected to be in the opening-day rotation.
Parker, a left-hander, started the season at Rochester but was quickly called up on April 15 and remained with the Nats for the rest of the season.
In 29 starts he went 7-10 with a 4.29 ERA, with 133 strikeouts and 43 walks in 151 innings. Like Herz, he should be in the starting rotation next season.
Early in the 2025 season another highly-regarded Nationals prospect should graduate — outfielder Dylan Crews. He is No. 3 in Baseball America’s Top 100. He didn’t amass enough service time in his September call-up to graduate last season.
In 31 games with the Nats, the 22-year-old slashed .218/.288/.353/.641 with three home runs and eight RBI. Crews is expected to be the starting right fielder for Washington next year.
