RHP Travis Sykora
Photo via Wilmington Blue Rocks
The Washington Nationals have announced that their top pitching prospect, Travis Sykora, will undergo Tommy John surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the 2025 season and likely all of 2026. Sykora, a right-handed pitcher selected in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft, has quickly climbed prospect rankings thanks to strong performances in the minor leagues. Last year, as a 20-year-old in Single-A, he posted a 2.33 ERA with a 39.2% strikeout rate over 85 innings in 20 starts.
In 2025, following offseason hip surgery and rehabilitation, he advanced to Double-A, pitching 45⅓ innings with a 1.79 ERA and an improved strikeout rate of 46.7%, although his walk rate increased to 10.1%.
Thanks to these impressive numbers, Sykora is currently ranked among the top pitching prospects: #36 by Baseball America, #28 by FanGraphs, and #24 by MLB Pipeline. He is also the Nationals’ No. 2 overall prospect. His rapid promotion to Double-A by June had suggested a potential major league debut as early as 2026.
During our interview earlier this month, Sykora reflected on his recovery and said, “Just the fact that I got surgery and I'm back to normal again. It is a huge stress relief, because last year was spent putting in so much effort into the hip. But now it's, I go to the field and focus on pitching, not the hip, which greatly helps me out.”
However, the upcoming Tommy John surgery means his timeline is delayed, and he may not be ready to contribute for the Nationals until 2027. His workload and effectiveness after surgery will be closely monitored. In addition, the Nationals face the decision of whether to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft in December 2026 by adding him to the 40-man roster.