Nationals Are Figuring Out What Positions Their Young Infield Prospects Will Play
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With the 2026 season set to get underway, what will be showcased on the major league diamond is not the only thing that's significant when it comes to this Washington Nationals organization.
Of course, the most important thing is the continued improvement of the players at the big league level. But with everyone understanding that this is still a rebuilding project for the Nationals under this new regime, a lot of the attention this year will be on what transpires in the minor league ranks.
Something that immediately stands out when it comes to the farm is how many talented, young infielders Washington already has. Led by top-ranked prospect Eli Willits, there are six other top 30 guys who could start their 2026 seasons down in the lower levels of Single-A. That makes it hard to get all of them the ample playing time that is necessary to develop, which is why this regime needed to come up with a plan when it came to what positions they are going to play.
Nationals Starting to Figure Out Roles for Young Prospects
Willits is going to get the majority of time at shortstop with Single-A Fredericksburg since he's projected to be the future at that position for this franchise. That leaves the Nationals trying to figure out where Gavin Fien, Devin Fitz-Gerald, Luke Dickerson, Coy James, Angel Feliz and Ronny Cruz -- all projected shortstops -- are going to get the majority of their reps. Luckily, it seems like there is a plan in place.
"Here's how it seems likely to shake out: Willits will get the majority of looks at the shortstop with Fredericksburg. Fien has already expressed that he's likely to slide over to third base, and [assistant general manager Devin] Pearson noted that Fitz-Gerald will get a majority of his looks at second base with some third and even the outfield sprinkled in. Dickerson will see time at both second base and the outfield to make use of his plus-plus wheels," wrote Sam Dykstra of MLB.com.
That is encouraging. At some point, Washington was going to have to make a decision on how this logjam of infielders was going to fit into the puzzle. So doing it early at this stage seems like a good idea to get them used to playing other positions. Of course, there could be factors that change the trajectory of this plan, but watching Fien play third base alongside Willits while Fitz-Gerald and Dickerson are at second and in the outfield will be exciting when looking at how things could be constructed going forward.
Some Young Prospects Could Be Moved Up the Pipeline Quickly
But even with the Nationals finding some new positions for their young infielders to play, the reality is there are still a lot of them in the mix. That's going to result in some of them being moved up the pipeline quickly, which could scare some fans in lieu of what's happened with the Dylan Crews saga.
"We're still trying to figure out the matrix of how all these guys are going to play," Nationals assistant general manager Devin Pearson stated. "The reality is some of them are probably going to have to go to [High-A] Wilmington to start, but it's a good problem to have a lot of infielders we really like. We're still working through it, but they've all shown up in a good place."
According to Dykstra, someone who is a candidate to start with Wilmington is Feliz. Despite playing just 31 games at Single-A last season, the 23rd-ranked prospect in Washington's pipeline could start this year in High-A because of his high defensive floor at shortstop.
How that impacts the 19-year-old will be seen. But he did enough at the plate by slashing .230/.307/.370 with three home runs, three doubles, a triple and 15 RBIs across his 31 games with
Fredericksburg that he should be OK.
How all of this shakes out during the entirety of the 2026 season will be something to keep an eye on. The Nationals seem to have a plan in place to develop their talented infield prospects as they figure out the best way to turn them into future stars in the MLB.
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