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It has been a little while since I have talked about the Nats farm system, so I wanted to give it some love. There are plenty of breakout candidates in the system, but I settled on three picks to click. One rule I had was that none of these players could be in the top 10 of the most recent MLB Pipeline top 30.
That means Gavin Fien, Landon Harmon and Luke Dickerson are not eligible for this list. Instead, I am going for some deeper cuts. The three names I chose were Devin Fitz-Gerald, Yoel Tejada Jr., and Sam Petersen. All of these guys showed flashes in 2025, but the best is still yet to come.
Devin Fitz-Gerald is the highest ranked of these prospects. He is the 12th ranked prospect in the Nats system according to Pipeline and is 9th for Baseball America. Fitz-Gerald was a key part of the MacKenzie Gore return. He was picked in the 5th round of the 2024 draft by the Rangers, and had an outstanding first season as a pro.
Fitz-Gerald dominated the competition in Rookie Ball before a promotion to Low-A. He only got to play 10 games in Low-A before a shoulder injury ended his season in early July. However, he held his own in A ball, walking more than he struck out. Polish is a key part of Fitz-Gerald’s game. The switch hitting infielder is a very advanced hitter for his age and has a high baseball IQ.
That high baseball IQ should come as no surprise. His dad is the coach at Stoneman Douglas High School, which has produced many MLB players including Anthony Rizzo, Jesus Luzardo and Roman Anthony. Fitz-Gerald played for his dad in high school and was an excellent player.
However, his pro debut went even better than expected. The switch hitter showed more power than expected, which elevated his stock. Everyone knew he was a polished hitter, but the extra power makes him a very complete hitter. Fitz-Gerald is not an elite athlete, so he is likely to move to second or third base. However, he has a good enough bat to do that. Out of the trio of prospects we will cover, Fitz-Gerald is easily the most likely to emerge as a top 100 guy.
He should start the season in a crowded Low-A infield. There is a chance we see Fitz-Gerald, Eli Willits, Angel Feliz, Gavin Fien and Luke Dickerson all start the year at Low-A. That could potentially move Dickerson to the outfield, but that is a conversation for another day. Devin Fitz-Gerald is a prospect whose trajectory is pointed upwards.
For my pitcher, I am going to choose a real deep cut. Yoel Tejada Jr. is the 27th ranked prospect according to Pipeline and the 29th ranked prospect according to Baseball America. However, he has some unique attributes that excite me.
Tejada was taken in the 14th round of the 2024 draft by the Nats. He was not good at all in college, with a career ERA of 5.74. Tejada also had more walks than strikeouts in his college career that only lasted 42.1 innings over three seasons. However, the Nats still drafted him because he is 6’8 and threw in the mid-90’s.
That gamble looks like a smart one. After some mechanical tweaks, he looked like a different pitcher as a pro. Tejada was more in the 91-94 MPH range, but was throwing way more strikes and showed a good feel for spin. His fastball plays up due to his massive extension down the mound as well. There is also a chance he can gain some more velocity.
In Low-A, Tejada posted a 3.43 ERA in 78.2 innings. He struck out nearly a batter per inning and walked just 2.4 hitters per nine. His two starts in High-A did not go as well, but that was a small sample size. The improvement in his command is what makes me very intrigued.
At 6’8, he is going to be a weird look for hitters. If he continues to pound the zone like he did last year, Tejada’s stock is only going to rise. I wonder if he can show the velocity he did in college while still pounding the zone. If he can do that, his stock could really take off. Tejada should start the season at High-A, but if he does well there, he could get to Double-A at some point this season.
He could be the next Brad Lord or Riley Cornelio type of arm, who seemingly comes out of nowhere. Both of those guys had velocity spikes as they rose through the minors, so that makes me confident that Tejada could sit in the 94-95 range before too long.
Another pitcher who is in a similar position to Tejada that I want to shout out as an honorable mention is Davian Garcia. He was also part of that 2024 class, and had a similar season to Tejada. Garcia was excellent in Low-A, but struggled in High-A. He got into a Spring Training game a few days ago, where his stuff looked excellent. Look for Garcia to rise into the Nats top 30 list soon.
The last player I want to talk about is Sam Petersen. In a way, he has already broken out, as he had an excellent year mostly in High-A. However, he only played in 57 minor league games due to a couple injuries. If he can stay healthy, Petersen could be yet another candidate to play in the Nats outfield by the end of the season.
While MLB Pipeline has Petersen as their 28th ranked prospect in the system, Baseball America is much higher on him. They have him ranked 14th, sandwiched between Landon Harmon and Ethan Petry. Baseball America put a 55 grade on his hitting, his power and his speed. That is a very impressive combination.
With the numbers he put up, that makes sense. Wilmington is a notoriously difficult place to hit, but Petersen made it look easy. He hit .297 with an .888 OPS in 44 games at High-A. Those are numbers you do not often see in Wilmington.
Petersen had a good career at Iowa, but fell to the 8th round due to an injury. When he was on the field last year, Petersen’s power and hitting ability looked improved. His max exit velocity improved from college despite switching from metal to wood bats. BA noted that he has an all-field approach, but has become more comfortable pulling the ball in the air.
If Petersen can stay healthy, he has an outside chance of making the big leagues this year. At this time last year, Daylen Lile was on the outside looking in, but he forced his way into the lineup. Petersen has the chance to do something similar if he performs and stays healthy.
It is clear the new regime likes what they are seeing because he has gotten a lot of run early in Spring Training. He has looked good when he has played as well, going 3/6 to start the spring. Despite only playing 44 games at High-A, the 23 year old Petersen should start the year in Double-A.
With a new regime coming in, there are plenty of prospects who could break out. There are obvious names like Eli Willits and Gavin Fien, but there are also some more under the radar picks. Even beyond these three players, there are other sleepers like Marconi German, Angel Feliz and Jackson Kent that I like. The Nats system is deeper than it has been in a long time, and it will be very exciting to follow this season.