2025 The Nats Report Nationals Top Prospects (Part 3)

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

Here we go! The six players in our third grouping of the top fifty Nats prospects are all exciting for one reason or another, in large part due to their youth (the oldest is 22). Once again, if you need a refresher on the "science" behind these rankings or either of the first two tiers, have at it. These next few players all have high variance in their outcomes not just for the indeterminate future but in 2025.

Tier 3: Church Ceiling, Tomb Floor

#35 Sir Jamison Jones 

Pos: C | 2025 Age: 19 | B/T: R/R | 2024 Level: HS | 

MLB Comp: Riley Adams

Acquired: 2024 amateur draft, 15th round/440th overall

AVG/OBP/SLG: n/a | HR: n/a | SB/ATT: n/a | wRC+: n/a 

I’m playing my “I just like this guy” card even though I’ve never seen him play apart from a few brief highlight videos and he has no pro track record to date. So why am I such a fan? In large part it’s because I came away very impressed by his interviews with the television and radio crews on the day he signed his contract with the Nationals. He was very poised, stressed how much being not only a catcher but a Black catcher (a rare archetype) means to him, and clearly is dedicated to his craft. I have heard secondhand reports about his professionalism and ability from post-draft instructs in Florida, and in addition the Nats clearly thought highly enough of him to give him fourth-round money. Plus of course he has an awesome name. Jones is a big, strong catcher with very good bat speed for a teenager out of a pretty compact stroke. He should be the primary receiver for the FCL team this year, with a chance of joining Fredericksburg for the second half depending on whether or not either or both of his fellow backstop draft classmates (Caleb Lomavita and Kevin Bazzell) move up the ladder as well.

#34 Jorgelys Mota 

Pos: 3B | 2025 Age: 20 | B/T: R/R | 2024 Level: R-FCL/A | 

MLB Comp: Kirkland Signature Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Acquired: signed as an amateur international free agent, 1/15/2022

AVG/OBP/SLG: .216/.288/.292 | HR: 2 | SB/ATT: 15/22 | wRC+: 52/95

Mota became a favorite sleeper prospect for a lot of Nats fans after a strong 2023 Complex showing (.318/.398/.459) led to a late-season promotion to Fredericksburg in his age-18 season. He returned to the FCL to start 2024 and struggled mightily (.191/.271/.265), but returned to the FredNats anyway for their playoff push and was much better there in part-time action in a crowded infield (.255/.315/.353). Mota is huge already and might not be finished growing, but what is really going to determine his status as a prospect is whether or not he can command the strike zone better than he has to date in his pro career. If he can stop chasing and make some better swing decisions, the other tools are there to shoot up these rankings. Mota should be a full-time player in low-A in 2025.

#33 Brenner Cox 

Pos: OF | 2025 Age: 21 | B/T: L/R | 2024 Level: A | 

MLB Comp: diet Chas McCormick

Acquired: 2022 amateur draft, 4th round/111th overall

AVG/OBP/SLG: .204/.352/.349 | HR: 8 | SB/ATT: 29/35 | wRC+: 115

Cox was drafted as something of the ideal Kris Kline/Mike Rizzo prospect, an incredibly toolsy athlete (he was also an excellent high school quarterback in Texas) who was just as incredibly raw. He had a nightmarish 2023, getting demoted from Fredericksburg back to rookie ball, where he continued to flail. Cox bounced back in 2024, walking a ton, hitting for acceptable power as a 20-year-old and throwing out nine base runners. He still whiffs a ton, but he also won’t turn 21 until May and has room to continue developing. There could be at least a part-time center fielder in there, but he will probably have to conquer Wilmington at some point in 2025 to stay on that path.

#32 T.J. White 

Pos: 1B | 2025 Age: 21 | B/T: B/R | 2024 Level: A+ | 

MLB Comp: Josh Bell

Acquired: 2021 amateur draft, 5th round/143rd overall

AVG/OBP/SLG: .202/.294/.364 | HR: 14 | SB/ATT: 4/4 | wRC+: 90 

White was pushed aggressively through the system from the time he was drafted until he hit a wall in high-A Wilmington in 2023, forcing a repeat of the level last year (when he was still more than two years younger than league average). He looked to be stalling out through late June, slashing .127/.240/.210 through the first fifty games of the season with two home runs. Thereafter, he hit .257/.335/.477 with a dozen bolts and made a case for a promotion to AA. He should start there in 2025 and hopefully leave his ice-cold first halves in Wilmington for good.

#31 Rafael Ramírez Jr.