Washington Nationals 2025 Top MLB Prospects: Part 6

Editors Note: Check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Part 5, and our top ten list!

On the penultimate day of our big list reveal, we return with eight players, seven of whom have at least reached AA and could theoretically think about reaching the majors this year. This group includes both of the minor leaguers that the Nats opted to protect from the Rule 5 draft that concludes the winter meetings, a trio of intriguing starting pitchers (one of whom lost two full years to TJ surgery/recovery), and five hitters who all need to tap into more power soon to push their current ceilings beyond "average regular."

Tier 6: Solid Regulars with Occasional Breakouts?

#14 Robert Hassell III

Pos: OF | 2025 Age: 23 | B/T: L/L | 2024 Level: AA/AAA |

MLB Comp: Brandon Nimmo with a lower walk rate

Acquired: traded by the Padres for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, 8/2/2022

AVG/OBP/SLG: .241/.319/.328 | HR: 5 | SB/ATT: 15/19 | wRC+: 113/-11

Bobby Barrels has not done a ton to live up to his nickname since being one of the elite prospects in the Soto trade two years ago. His 2023 struggles could be chalked up to the lengthy recovery time from hamate surgery (fall 2022), but although the end results were better in 2024, he still struggled to turn on pitches all year long (almost every time I saw him drive a ball it was to left field), and he also missed almost two months in the middle of the season with…another hamate injury. The Nats sent him to the Arizona Fall League (where he discovered that he needed surgery back in 2022) for the third straight season, and he had significantly better power numbers this time around than in 2023 (.517 SLG vs. .348). He was added to the 40-man roster this month and will likely be the everyday center fielder in Rochester to open 2025, and the first call should an outfielder go down with an injury. I kind of think that the best way to maximize Hassell and Jacob Young is to platoon them in center field, but Hassell will need to stay healthy and prove himself in AAA before there is any chance of that happening.

#13 Andry Lara

Pos: RHSP | 2025 Age: 22 | B/T: R/R | 2024 Level: A+/AA |

MLB Comp: Kevin Gausman

Acquired: signed as an amateur international free agent, 7/2/2019

ERA: 3.34 | WHIP: 1.158 | FIP: 2.74/4.41 | IP: 134.2 | K/9: 8.8 | BB/9: 2.9

Another forever member of the organization like Jackson Rutledge and Jeremy De La Rosa (he was one of the top pitchers in the 2019 international class out of Venezuela), it’s hard to believe that Lara will turn just 22 in January. After having a quietly good second half of the 2023 season at high-A Wilmington, Lara stormed out of the gates in six starts there before getting promoted to AA Harrisburg. As a Senator he had one catastrophic start (in large part due to atrocious plate umpiring - I was sitting in the front row for that one in Bowie) and a couple other bad ones, but had ten quality starts in nineteen tries. He has solid command with his mid-90s fastball and good slider (that he can throw to hitters from both sides of the plate) but needs to further refine his changeup. After being added to the 40-man roster this month, one imagines he will have an opportunity to do that at AAA Rochester with a chance of pitching himself into the majors before the end of the year.

#12 Caleb Lomavita

Pos: C | 2025 Age: 22 | B/T: R/R | 2024 Level: A |

MLB Comp: Jason Kendall

Acquired: 2024 amateur draft, 1st round/39th overall

AVG/OBP/SLG: .213/.310/.246 | HR: 0 | SB/ATT: 3/5 | wRC+: 76

The Nats traded Hunter Harvey well before the deadline in no small part because they were able to extract a competitive balance pick in the draft in that deal, and they used that pick on Lomavita. Lomo is an athletic catcher who can run, throw, and find the barrel in the zone, but he does chase breaking balls, and his adjustment to those in the minors will be a huge factor in his development. He got seventeen games with Fredericksburg to close the season, and as a major college performer (Cal) he should probably start 2025 in Wilmington, where not only will his bat and power be tested in an incredibly tough hitting park, but his receiving skills will be put to the test by the Nats’ two best pitching prospects.

#11 Yohandy Morales

Pos: 1B | 2025 Age: 23 | B/T: R/R | 2024 Level: AA |

MLB Comp: if the college power shows up, Rhys Hoskins

Acquired: 2023 amateur draft, 2nd round/40th overall

AVG/OBP/SLG: .283/.368/.416 | HR: 7 | SB/ATT: 5/8 | wRC+: 119

Morales was quite possibly the third-best college bat in the 2023 draft behind Dylan Crews and Wyatt Langford, clocking a .716 SLG with twenty bombs in 61 games for The U, but the big power has not really shown up with a wood bat yet. He did deal with a thumb injury last summer and was pretty strong after his return, slashing .324/.416/.482 to close out the season. That last number needs to start with a “5” for him to remain a serious prospect for the eventual first base job, particularly as he will presumably play most or all of 2025 in the friendly hitting environment of the International League (crucially, with the MLB ball). Morales is a big guy (listed at 6’3” and 225 - I will take the over on that) and a bit jerky in his movements, so first base is almost certainly his final destination. Power is in short supply on South Capitol Street these days, and if Morales can show it with regularity he will get a chance for a big league job in 2025.

#10 Daylen Lile

Pos: OF | 2025 Age: 22 | B/T: L/R | 2024 Level: A+/AA |

MLB Comp: Michael Brantley

Acquired: 2021 amateur draft, 2nd round/47th overall

AVG/OBP/SLG: .262/.347/.388 | HR: 6 | SB/ATT: 25/5 | wRC+: 118/108

Lile feels like a throwback to the eighties, a guy with a good hit tool, wheels, and little power or arm - you can see him as a Cardinal right now in your mind’s eye. His profile seems more out of place in this decade and in this organization, where the presence of better defensive center fielders makes him (and his medium arm, on which he had TJ surgery and thus missed the 2022 season) a left fielder by default. Lile’s home runs are typically wall-scrapers (I saw one pulled back in Bowie, in fact), but he could be a 15-homer guy eventually. He did bring positive value at the plate for Harrisburg despite being two and a half years younger than the average Eastern Leaguer. Guys who perform above the median when they are young for the level - especially when they have missed an entire year of development - are worth following. Lile has potential, but he has a lot of rungs to climb in the organizational ladder. His biggest value to the Nats might be as a trade piece to a team that a) thinks it can wring more power out of him and b) has a surplus of arms. Lile is a smooth athlete who is fun to watch, and he should be in Harrisburg to open 2025, with the possibility of a midseason promotion to Rochester.

#9 Tyler Stuart

Pos: RHSP | 2025 Age: 25 | B/T: R/R | 2024 Level: AA/AAA |

MLB Comp: Bailey Ober

Acquired: traded by the Mets for Jesse Winker, 7/28/2024

ERA: 4.12 | WHIP: 1.267 | FIP: 3.09/4.95 | IP: 122.1 | K/9: 9.9 | BB/9: 2.7