For the Nationals To Take the Next Step, Young Players Must Do the Same
The Nationals' winning window could hinge on how several of their young players develop next season.
The 2026 season looked a lot different for the Washington Nationals. A new manager and front office quickly translated to a different product on the field, one that was more refreshing. Well, at least for the first half of the season. A 48-49 record at the break led many Nationals fans to buy into the changes before a 25-35 record in the second half crushed that hope.
Although the team will finish below .500 yet again, I do think there are reasons to be excited about where this team is going. James Wood has established himself as a legitimate superstar, while C.J. Abrams has taken his game to a different level. Cade Cavalli rose from the dead to meet the expectations once placed on him as a prospect.
The front office proved that it could identify talent and execute deals that give fans reasons to believe this team’s roster can improve. The product on the field had a different identity than in years past and one that is more conducive to winning. Now, the Nationals need other young players to take a step forward in order to lengthen their lineup, stabilize their rotation, and fix the bullpen.
Stats were taken prior to play on September 24.
Lineup Improvements
A team that has lost as much as the Nationals have over the past few seasons will obviously have fans focused on prospects. While Eli Willits, Devin Fitz-Gerald, Seaver King, and others are talented players who very well could help the Nationals sooner than later, the young players on the roster need to step up first.
While getting better play out of fringe players such as Jorbit Vivas, Harry Ford, and Nasim Nunez certainly would be welcomed, the bigger names are where this team could truly be impacted. For the sake of this discussion, I want to focus on three players in particular: Daylen Lile, Brady House, and Dylan Crews.
Lile, a 2021 second-round pick, made a name for himself as a 22-year-old last season, slashing .299/.347/.498 with nine home runs and a 131 wRC+. A beautiful swing and plus bat-to-ball skills, with power he can grow into, made him one of the breakout players on the Nationals’ roster. However, 2026 was a step back.
Don’t get me wrong, Lile was not bad by any means. Hitting 22 home runs and stealing 15 bags while posting a 97 wRC+ is great for a 23-year-old, but the Nationals seem to need more. And I think he can get there. I think that the quality of contact, combined with an 86% zone contact rate and natural swing, gives Lile a chance to be one of the better hitters on the team.
He needs to improve his pitch recognition and swing selection. In his short sample size last season, he destroyed fastballs to a .303 average, but that dropped to .247 this season. Chasing at a 38% clip is a difficult way to find sustained success, but I do think that will improve with more time on task. If he does become the hitter I think he can be, he can be an answer for the Nationals near the top of the lineup.
A player who’s looking less like an answer is Dylan Crews. The second overall pick from 2023 simply has not been nearly good enough. Another player who swings at too many balls and puts together some difficult at-bats. The tools are all there, but the production has not been for parts of three straight seasons.
Across 423 plate appearances this year, Crews has slashed .223/.288/.370 with 12 home runs and an 80 wRC+, sadly a career best. A fine defender with plus speed, Crews should be afforded more opportunities to find his groove at the plate. However, can the Nationals go into 2027 thinking he could be an everyday player? To this point in his career, he has not shown enough for me to think that they should.
Lastly, there is Brady House. The 11th overall pick from the 2021 draft was quite awful in his rookie year in 2025. A 28.5% strikeout rate and 54 wRC+ with no power was very concerning. However, 2026 started off much better before his injury. A .241/.306/.394 slash and 10 home runs in 91 games was good for a 91 wRC+. Another adequate mark for a 23-year-old.
The issue with House, similar to Lile and Crews, is pitch recognition and swinging at too many balls. His 48.2% hard-hit rate and 9.9% barrel rate are promising and produce better expected numbers, but if he’s going to strike out this much and not hit for an average, his power needs to increase significantly from a .153 ISO.
All three of these players have the raw talent to figure it out and become regulars for the Nationals. I doubt all three will figure it out, but if even two could, the Nationals would look like a much deeper team. A lineup with Wood, Abrams, and two of these three, with several top prospects on the way, becomes intriguing quickly.
Finding answers to the lineup is an easier path than the pitching side.
Which Pitcher Takes a Step Forward?
Any variation of a season preview for the Washington Nationals likely started with highlighting Abrams and Wood before slandering their rotation and bullpen. I’m sure we would all like to forget Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell, right? Washington started the season thin on talented arms but did find a gem or two throughout the year.
Cade Cavalli is finally healthy and has blossomed into this team’s ace. A 3.02 ERA and 3.25 FIP with nearly 11 K/9 and less than 3 BB/9 was better than any reasonable expectation. To see him find success after the injuries he sustained was an awesome story to follow throughout the year. The question now is if he can repeat his success.
I don’t think Cavalli needs to take a step forward in how he pitches, but rather simply prove that this is the type of pitcher he is. Confirm what we are seeing and fill a huge role in the Nationals’ rotation moving forward. Cement his name in the rotation with no questions asked.
Where we need to see the step forward is from the other young arms that we did not get to see enough of this season. Acquiring Connolly Early was a move that I liked at the deadline, especially considering the cost. Usually, when a trade looks like an absolute steal, there’s something that we don’t know. Maybe Early is not as good of an arm as I think he is?
His 3.44 ERA stands out, but his 4.60 FIP and often loud contact against are reasons for some concern. We’re talking about a career sample size of only 111 innings, so there’s plenty of room to work with and to see improvement. The Nationals are counting on Early to be an answer to the rotation immediately, and expectations are still high. Whether or not he meets them will be a determining factor in Washington’s success next season.
After those two, you’ll find a trio of lefties who all come with some upside and red flags. Andrew Alvarez had a breakout season, posting a 3.17 ERA and 3.13 FIP across 108 innings in the rotation and out of the bullpen. Although he’s 27 years old, this is only his first full season.
Alvarez is not going to blow you away with the fastball or completely wow you with his stuff, but he generates ground balls and avoids damage. His profile is a little bit tricky to predict year over year, and he’ll have to eat some innings for the Nationals in 2027 and see if he can be an answer in the future.
The last two lefties are DJ Herz and Jackson Kent. Herz is a fun arm that’s coming back from injury and has the type of stuff that can generate strikeouts. Whether or not he can find a fourth pitch might determine his ceiling. Kent is a low-velocity lefty who relies on movement to get batters out. Admittedly, I have not watched enough of him in the minors to really have a grasp on what his ceiling can be.
Prospects Jarlin Susana and Travis Sykora have sat atop the prospect rankings for some time. Both righties come with a lot of upside and electric stuff, but are working back from injury. I’m sure that they will factor into 2027 in some fashion. However, the pitchers we saw this year will be more crucial to immediate success.
Final Thoughts
If you were encouraged by what you saw from the Nationals this season, I don’t blame you. Seeing two of your bigger stars put up amazing years along with Cavalli’s breakout was encouraging. However, you need a lot more than that.
I don’t know if it’s quite make or break for any of the players listed above. We’re talking about players under 25 years old here. But progress from at least half of these players changes the Nationals’ winning window and timeline. Next season cannot simply be another evaluation year. Washington has to show legitimate steps forward and complement the roster from outside the organization.
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