Washington Nationals Fantasy Baseball Sleepers and Breakouts Players

The Nationals have four intriguing young batters developing at the same time. inviting a bright future for their franchise if they can get their pitching in order when these players peak.

Sleeper: Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals

Crews looks poised to be a much better player with Washington in 2025. He has the tools to bat second in the batting order with an opportunistic skill set in speed. I sense that he needs two to three months to get comfortable at the major league level. His volume of at-bats should be an asset for his counting stats – .265/75/15/65/20 seems like a reasonable floor for his rookie campaign.

Sleeper: MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals

Gore’s sample size of success was short last year, but he did come to pro ball with pedigree (drafted third overall in 2017). Over his first three seasons in the majors, his stats (21-26 with a 4.20 ERA, 1.422 WHIP, and 404 strikeouts over 372.2 innings) suggest waiting for him to prove it for an entire season before running down his arm.

Is Gore a tease, or is he ready to help fantasy teams? I’m more interested than in 2024, but I need positive reports about his direction this spring. Within range of 200 strikeouts with length in his starts, his success begins with better location in and out of the strike zone.

He has a 1.35 ERA abd 1.200 WHIP over 13.1 innings in spring training with 14 strikeouts. His fastball (96.1 mph) is up about over one mph.

Breakout: CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals

Abrams doesn’t bring the electricity of Elly De La Cruz and Oneil Cruz entering 2025, but he does control the strike zone better. His power is coming, and he already has an impact season in steals (47) on his resume. I see a future .280/100/30/80/50 player when he adds more strength and bulk to his frame. He looks priced to pay off this season.

Breakout: James Wood, Washington Nationals

In his whole minor league career, Wood had an elite contact batting average (.443), allowing him to have a reasonable floor in batting average until his approach catches up in the majors. Pitchers will have a better handle on him in 2025, forcing Wood to be more patient at the plate. If not, they will expand the strike zone on him, creating more swings and misses.

The Nationals are rebuilding their offense, pointing to Wood getting a chance to bat in the upper half of their lineup. He is certainly tempting due to his baseline skill set in power and speed. I expect a couple of down months, but Wood should help fantasy teams in four categories (runs, home runs, RBIs, and steals) this season.

Sleeper: Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals

Sleeper: MacKenzie Gore, Washington Nationals

Breakout: CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals

Breakout: James Wood, Washington Nationals

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