Editors Note: This is the latest in our player profile in our 40-man breakdown series that we have started here at the Nats Report. Check our other player profiles.

Drew Millas

• Position:  Catcher
• Current status: 1st Year Pre-Arb (Arb-Eligible 2027, Free Agent 2030)
• How acquired:  Traded by the A’s  with Seth Shuman and Richard Guasch for Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes, 7/30/2021
• 2023 Grade: B+
• 2024 Opening Day Projection: MLB backup catcher if Riley Adams hasn’t fully recovered from hamate surgery, Rochester starter if he has
• 2023 stats: 11 G, .286/.375/.464, 1 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 131 OPS+, .365 wOBA, 130 wRC+, 0.2 bWAR/0.2 fWAR

2023 Analysis

Millas was supposed to be a glove-first depth guy while Israel Pineda was the catcher of the future before Pineda got hurt in spring training and Millas roared out of the gate in AA Harrisburg, slashing .342/.455/.537 over twenty-five games before being promoted to Rochester. He hit a much more pedestrian .270/.362/.403 in the much more hitter-friendly International League, but well enough that with his strong defensive reputation it was an easy call to promote him when rosters expanded. Apart from beaning his buddy Jackson Rutledge on a throw down to second in the latter’s debut, Millas was pretty impressive. He hit well in a very small sample and showed exceptional athleticism behind the plate and on the bases (80th percentile sprint speed - as a catcher!). It would not be a stretch to say that he is the most athletic catcher that the Nationals have ever employed, and he has created a situation where the Nats will soon need to make a choice between him and Adams.

2024 outlook

To a large degree, Millas is not the master of his own fate, because the decision to keep him on the major league roster to start the year or send him back to Triple-A to play every day depends in large measure on the health of Adams’ wrist. Because a) Keibert Ruiz and Adams are both bat-forward backstops and b) Millas is younger with two more years of control than Adams, I would favor keeping Millas over Adams, certainly in 2025 if the team expects to contend at that point. Keeping him in the majors and starting him judiciously twice a week could also be a significant benefit to the development of the young pitchers that the Nationals are relying on heavily to further their rebuild. If Millas can continue to maintain the high walk rates and strong contact ability that he has displayed throughout his professional career while keeping the power that showed up last year for the first time, he might even be good enough to be a regular, whether that’s in Washington or elsewhere. Having four catchers in the organization who are in their twenties with MLB experience is a new (and good!) problem for the Nats to have - it will be interesting to see how they handle it.