Paul Toboni Gives Idea of How Nationals Will Help Brady House Reach His Ceiling
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One way this offseason for the Washington Nationals is different than last year's is the fact they appear to have a long-term solution at third base on their roster.
Last winter, that was a major hole. Speculation about who they could add to fill that need ranged from making a splash by signing someone like superstar Alex Bregman to going with a stopgap solution since 2021 first-round pick Brady House was making his way up the pipeline.
The Nationals chose the latter option, and it allowed them to get a look at House on the big league stage. Unfortunately, there are more questions than answers regarding what the talented 22-year-old could be at this level, but the new regime has total confidence in what he can become. And they have a plan in place to help him reach his full potential.
Paul Toboni Lays Out How Brady House Can Reach His Ceiling
"In terms of what he can lock in on going forward, we'll start with just his ability to do a really good job controlling the zone. I think if he does a really good job of doing that, it will unlock some really cool things for him. He'll make more contact. He'll get to more power. I think it starts there, in terms of his path to becoming a really impactful offensive player," president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said, per Mark Zuckerman of MASN.
When looking at House's profile from this past season, controlling the zone is something he has to improve upon if he's going to be effective in the big leagues.
He had a chase rate of 36.8%, a whiff rate of 30.9% and a strikeout rate of 28.5%, all figures that were well below the league average in those categories. And with a walk rate of just 2.9%, all of that was a major reason why he finished his first experience in The Show with a .234/.252/.322 slash line and OPS+ of 62 with four home runs, 15 extra-base hits and 29 RBIs across 73 games.
BRADY HOUSE AGAIN!
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2025
The @Nationals rookie has hit his first two career homers today! pic.twitter.com/C5j2pXZR3m
But he also flashed his upside. When House did make contact with the ball, he had a hard hit rate of 46.3%, which was above the league average. His average exit velocity of 89.8 mph was also above the league average, so it's clear he has pop in his bat.
That has been evident in the minors. From 2023-25 -- with the latter being a shortened season since he was promoted to The Show in June -- he recorded three straight double-digit home run campaigns with slugging percentages of .497 in 2023 and .519 in 2025.
Translating that to the major league level is the next step for House. And with a plan in place by this new regime when it comes to getting him to that point, the sky is the limit for the talented youngster after he already showed he can play a good hot corner with two outs above average and a fielding run value of plus-one.
"What's great about Brady is, I think he's extremely motivated," Toboni added. "I think he would tell you the world hasn't seen the best version of Brady to date."
