Key Nationals Youngster Predicted to Be Breakout Player This Season
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While the Washington Nationals haven't had a ton of success as a team in recent years, a few of their players have broken out into stardom due to personal achievements.
CJ Abrams was an All-Star in 2024. James Wood was sensational in the first half of the 2025 campaign and earned himself a spot in the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. And MacKenzie Gore was also an All-Star last season and became a coveted trade chip this winter. Now, the Nationals are hoping a breakout happens with another one of their key youngsters on the roster.
Following a tough first year in the bigs after his debut, Brady House is looking to show what he can do after he enjoyed success throughout the minors. The 22-year-old has turned plenty of heads this spring, and that's one of the reasons why Kiley McDaniel of ESPN listed House as the top breakout candidate for the Nationals this season.
Brady House Is Showcasing His High Ceiling
"I've been a believer in House's enormous tools since early in his high school career ...," McDaniel stated as part of his reasoning. And those hit tools have been on display during the early part of spring training games.
House leads Washington in hits (nine), home runs (three), doubles (four) and RBIs (nine). He's also slashed .429/.409/1.048 across eight games. And while he has struck out eight times and has walked none, the youngster has showcased his ability to hit for average and power.
At the age of 22, the Nationals are turning things over to him at third base. So seeing House become the next breakout player for this team would be huge. It also could be important from a personal level considering how many star infield prospects are now in this farm system and will be working their way up the pipeline over the next few years.
2026 Could Become Important Season for Brady House
Following his first taste of MLB action last season where he underwhelmed a bit by hitting .234/.252/.322 with just four home runs, 15 extra-base hits and 29 RBIs across 73 games, the hope is he'll take a step forward in his career and become the power-hitting third baseman he was projected to be.
While he's looked good thus far during spring training, that doesn't always translate to actual MLB games. So he'll need to prove he can consistently hit major league pitching throughout the year if he's going to be considered a cornerstone of this franchise going forward. That's why 2026 looms large when it comes to how he's potentially viewed by this new regime.
House is still super young and will have more time to develop if he doesn't breakout this season. But with plenty of high-end prospects coming up the pipeline, it's not a given he'll have third base locked down for the future if he doesn't show substantial growth this year.
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