Washington Nationals Have Surprisingly Few Impact Players Who Were Homegrown
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Given the rebuild the Washington Nationals have undergone over the last few years, it would be fair to assume they are overflowing with homegrown talent.
Since winning the World Series in 2019, they have not come close to making the playoffs. The most victories they have in a single season is 71, which has led to a lot of picks being made near the top of the draft.
Conventional wisdom would suggest this team has tons of homegrown talent as a result.
In some regard, that is correct.
Out of the 40-man roster, 15 of them are considered homegrown players; either selected by the team in the draft or signed as international free agents.
There are some impact players on the Major League roster who the team developed, such as second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. and starting pitcher Jake Irvin. Mitchell Parker looks like a front-end starter out of the gate in 2025, another player the organization developed. Jacob Young is the starting center fielder and right fielder Dylan Crews is oozing with potential.
However, the core of what the Nationals hopes is their foundation moving forward isn’t homegrown.
Washington can thank the San Diego Padres for improving their long-term outlook from all of the talent that was acquired in the Juan Soto blockbuster in 2022.
Their current ace, MacKenzie Gore, was part of that trade package. As was All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams and future face of the franchise, left fielder James Wood.
All three have been excellent in 2025, with Gore unlocking his strikeout potential to take his game to another level. Before landing on the injured list, Abrams was showing an improved power swing at the plate. Wood has arguably the most power potential in baseball and it has been on display, as well.
His batting average has taken a dip, but everything else is up as he develops into one of the most feared hitters in the game.
An argument could be made that they are the three best players on the Major League roster right now, but none of them qualify as homegrown talent.
There is even more outside talent on the way, too, with outfielder Robert Hassell III, the highest-ranked prospect in the package from the Padres at the time, and pitcher Jarlin Susana moving through the ranks.
As a result of so many key contributors being acquired via trade, the Nationals are ranked 27th in the homegrown talent power rankings put together by Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report.
In addition to the Soto deal, Washington also acquired players from the Los Angeles Dodgers when they parted ways with starting pitcher Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner.
