National League Executive Believes Nationals Could Have Break Out Season

Will the Washington Nationals have a breakout season in 2025?

Mar 27, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher MacKenzie Gore (1) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Nationals Park. | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

It was an encouraging, yet, challenging start to the season for the Washington Nationals against the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Even though the Nationals lost the first game of the year, the performance of MacKenzie Gore was eye-opening, and the team should be really excited that they might have an emerging young ace on their hands. 

However, the bullpen wasn’t able to get the job done late or in extra innings and the team suffered the loss. 

Coming into the year, expectations were a bit higher than they have been in recent years. Since the Nationals have won 71 games the last two years, an increase in that department after a nice offseason is to be expected. 

However, while the young core is developing and some good additions were made this winter, the team is going to face challenges. 

Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com (subscription required) recently polled 18 MLB executives and scouts about which teams would break out this year. One National League executive is a believer in the Nationals. 

"I'll take a flier on the Nationals," one NL exec said. "I know they're in a tough division, but there's a lot of talent there."

Washington is certainly capable of being a breakout team this year, but a lot of things will have to go right. 

Starting in their division, there is without a doubt a ton of talent and three teams that are likely to compete for playoff spots. However, injuries happen and teams underperform all the time. If one of those two things occurs, it could open the door for the Nationals to sneak in. 

From a team perspective, the pitching staff is going to have to be better than last year. That started off nicely with a great start from Gore. If the southpaw is going to be able to pitch like that going forward, Washington will be a better team. 

If another young arm or two can take a step forward like their ace has, it would also be a massive help for the franchise. 

The lineup is easily the thing to get most excited about for the Nationals. The young core of Washington is up and running in 2025, and the sky is the limit for what this offense can accomplish. 

With James Wood and Dylan Crews entering their first full seasons, the young duo will be looking to make a splash. 

Furthermore, some of the recent emerging stars like CJ Abrams and Luis Garica Jr. are going to have their eyes set on making the All-Star team. 

Overall, the team might need a couple of things to go right that they can’t necessarily control in their division, but the potential is certainly there to improve and have a breakout campaign.