How Much Runway Will Nationals Give Brady House as Team's Third Baseman?
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Ever since Brady House was selected 11th overall in the 2021 draft out of high school, it seemed like the Washington Nationals had their third baseman of the future in their pipeline.
He was given time to develop on the farm before he was called up to The Show this past season. At the age of 22, there weren't a ton of expectations placed on him to become an immediate impact player, but it's safe to say he underwhelmed a bit.
That's because he didn't really flash his top hit tool: power. After putting up a slugging percentage of .453 across 343 minor league games and 1,333 at-bats that included three straight campaigns with double-digit home runs, House was only able to muster up a .322 slugging percentage with four home runs across his first 73 big league games.
How Patient Will Nationals Be With Brady House?
It's way too early to say he can't become the type of player he was projected to be entering the start of his professional career, but he has plenty to work on if he's going to reach that ceiling. And because of that, Mark Zuckerman of MASN thinks House has to take a leap soon if he's going to still be considered the third baseman of Washington's future.
"Given the Nationals' current situation, it would seem like House is assured of more playing time and more experience going into 2026. But the club shouldn't just hand him the job and live with the results no matter what. The organization's 2021 first round pick needs to show real improvement over the course of his first full big league season in order to convince everyone he still deserves to be considered part of the long term plan," he wrote.
It might seem a little early to make that proclamation. After all, this is a high-upside player who only has 73 major league games under his belt. However, House was also a draft pick of the previous regime, so it's unclear exactly how he'll be viewed by Paul Toboni and his new front office.
The best thing for everyone would be for House to take a huge step forward in 2026, showcasing his ability to hit for power and average like he did throughout his minor league journey. But until that takes place in the bigs, there will rightfully be some questions about how he fits into the long-term plans of this franchise.
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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