Washington Nationals Star Pitching Prospect Gets Lofty Debut Prediction
In this story:
There's a lot of attention on the Washington Nationals pipeline.
While plenty of their star prospects have reached the Majors with the organization keen on seeing what they can do at this level despite their young age, there are still others on the farm who can also augment this roster when it comes time for them to be called up to The Show.
The first that comes to mind is Brady House, the third baseman who appears to be the franchise cornerstone at that position and was likely the reason why the Nationals didn't pursue an established veteran.
Similarly, Yohandy Morales could also become that guy at first base, even after Washington traded for Nathaniel Lowe this winter.
However, when looking down the pipeline further, there's one pitcher who turned heads during his first professional season; Travis Sykora.
While the Nationals have a rotation full of emerging talent and someone who seems to be their established ace in MacKenzie Gore, the 20-year-old right-hander offers a massive ceiling after he took many by surprise this past season following being a third-round pick in the 2023 draft.
At the Single-A level, Sykora posted a 2.33 ERA across his 20 starts, striking out 129 batters in 85 innings pitched.
He vaulted to the top of Washington's prospect ratings, sitting at No. 2 per MLB Pipeline.
When might he become a factor for the Major League squad?
R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports has a lofty projection, predicting Sykora will debut in the spring of 2027 with just three seasons of minor league baseball under his belt.
That would certainly be welcome for the Nationals if that comes true.
While the rotation seems to have plenty of options right now, there's no guarantee that any of them will be the top-end starters that's required for a team to contend for a division title, and hopefully, a World Series championship.
Right now, Sykora projects to be a starting pitcher, but Anderson thinks he could have a role change in order to debut at the early part of the 2027 campaign.
"Sykora's arsenal, led by a mid-90s fastball and splitter, should enable him some kind of big-league career, be it in the middle of a rotation or in a high-leverage relief role" he wrote.
It will be interesting to see how the youngster performs this year.
His showing in 2024 turned a lot of heads inside and outside the organization, so if he dominates early on this minor league season, he could be a prime candidate to fly through the farm system like the other star prospects who have come before him.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai