Final roster set for On Deck: Nationals Futures Game

Top-100 prospects Dylan Crews, James Wood and Brady House will lead the full Washington Nationals Futures Team roster at ON DECK: NATIONALS FUTURES GAME on Tuesday, March 26 at Nationals Park. This game serves as the exciting start to an Opening Week full of celebrations, showcasing top prospects from across the organization’s Minor League system with current Nationals Major Leaguers. First pitch is set for 12:05 p.m. with live coverage on MASN, 106.7 FM The Fan and in Spanish on DC 87.7 FM and La Pantera 100.7 FM/1220 AM.

The following prospects will make up the Futures Team:

Pitchers: Brendan Collins, DJ Herz (L), Joe La Sorsa (L), Orlando Ribalta, Jackson Rutledge, Tyler Schoff, Jarlin Susana, Amos Willingham

Catchers: Drew Millas, Israel Pineda, Maxwell Romero Jr.

Infielders: Darren Baker, Armando Cruz, Brady House, Trey Lipscomb, Kevin Made, Yohandy Morales, TJ White

Outfielders: Dylan Crews, Elijah Green, Robert Hassell III, Daylen Lile, Andrew Pinckney, Cristhian Vaquero, James Wood

The Futures Team will be led by:

Manager: Delino DeShields (Double-A Harrisburg)

Bench Coach: Oscar Salazar (Double-A Harrisburg)

Pitching Coach: Rigo Beltran (Double-A Harrisburg)

Hitting Coach: Jeff Livesey (Double-A Harrisburg)

First Base Coach: Jake Lowery (Single-A Fredericksburg Manager)

Third Base Coach: Mario Lisson (High-A Wilmington Manager)

Bullpen Coach: Justin Lord (Single-A Fredericksburg Pitching Coach)

The excitement continues Tuesday evening, as members of the Nationals roster, coaching staff and several top prospects head to District Wharf for the Nationals Homecoming Gala Red Carpet presented by Verizon. Fan activities begin at 5:00 .m., and fans are encouraged to come out for the chance to meet their favorite players, win prizes and play tailgate games. Nationals ticket sales representatives will be on hand with signed merchandise and special discounts.

Short player bios can be found below.

Second baseman Darren Baker

• Took part in his first Major League Spring Training in 2024.
• Ranked among Nationals Minor Leaguers in average (3^rd, .280), hits (4^th, 118), triples (T6^th, 4), on-base percentage (10^th, .348), OPS (10th, .692) and stolen bases (10th, 21) in 2023.

Right-handed pitcher Brendan Collins

• A native of Olney, Maryland, and graduate of Sherwood High School.
• Went 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 30 games (eight starts) for Single-A Fredericksburg in 2022. Struck out 88 batters in 68.1 innings.
• Missed the majority of the 2023 season.

Outfielder Dylan Crews

• Washington’s top prospect and the No. 6 prospect in all of baseball, according to Baseball America.
• Took part in his first Major League Spring Training after being selected No. 2 overall in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft.
• Crews hit .292 with nine doubles, five homers, 29 RBI, 14 walks, four stolen bases and 26 runs scored in 35 games between the FCL Nationals, Single-A Fredericksburg and Double-A Harrisburg in his first professional season in 2023.

Shortstop Armando Cruz

• Washington’s No. 26 prospect, according to Baseball America.
• Recorded career-highs in hits (63), RBI (33), walks (31) and total bases (83) in 2023.

Outfielder Elijah Green

• Enters the season rated by Baseball America as Washington’s No. 9 prospect and as being the “Best Athlete” and having the “Best Outfield Arm” in Washington’s system.
• Logged career-highs in hits (66), doubles (14), home runs (5), RBI (39), walks (52) and stolen bases (31) between the FCL Nationals and Single-A Fredericksburg in 2023.

Outfielder Robert Hassell III

• Washington’s No. 7 prospect, per Baseball America, Hassell III took part in his first Major League Spring Training in 2024.
• Appeared in a career-high 121 games between Single-A Fredericksburg and Double-A Harrisburg in 2023, hitting .221 with a .324 on-base percentage, 16 doubles, two triples, nine homers, 41 RBI, 68 walks, 15 stolen bases and 66 runs scored along the way.

Left-handed pitcher DJ Herz

• Was acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the 2023 Trade Deadline in exchange for Jeimer Candelario.
• Herz enters 2024 leading all of Minor League Baseball with a .176 opponents’ batting average and is second with 13.43 strikeouts per 9.0 innings since the start of the 2021 season (min. 250.0 IP).
• His 133 strikeouts in 94.1 innings ranked tied for second among all Double-A left-handed pitchers in 2023. He also ranked third in all of Double-A and 13th in all of Minor League Baseball (min. 90.0 IP) with a .196 opponents’ batting average.

Third Baseman Brady House

• The No. 48 prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com and the No. 55 prospect, per Baseball America. He also has the “Best Infield Arm” in the system, according to Baseball America.
• Led Washington’s system in average (.312) and ranked in slugging percentage (3^rd, .497), OPS (3^rd, .862), on-base percentage (4^th, .365), extra-base hits (6^th, 36), home runs (T6^th, 12), hits (7^th, 106) and doubles (T8^th, 21) in 2023.

Left-handed pitcher Joe La Sorsa

• Appeared in 23 Major League games for the Nationals in 2023, going 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA and 25 strikeouts against just six walks.
• Opened the 2023 season with Tampa Bay before being claimed by the Nationals on June 8.

Outfielder Daylen Lile

• Named a Carolina League All-Star in 2023, hitting .291 with 20 doubles, seven triples, seven homers, 48 RBI, 36 walks and 21 stolen bases in 66 games with Single-A Fredericksburg.
• Back-to-back (2020, 2021) Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Kentucky.

Infielder Trey Lipscomb

• Washington’s 2023 Defensive Player of the Year and winner of a Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove award.
• He ranked among Major League hitters in average (2^nd, .400), on-base percentage (3^rd, .455), hits (4^th, 20) and OPS (T8^th, .995) in Spring Training.

Shortstop Kevin Made

• Acquired from the Cubs with DJ Herz at the 2023 Trade deadline in exchange for Jeimer Candelario.
• Named an organizational All-Star in 2021 while he was 18 years old playing at Single-A Myrtle Beach.

Catcher Drew Millas

• Made his Major League debut on Aug. 28, 2023, at Toronto.
• At the time of his promotion, ranked in Washington’s Minor League system in on-base percentage (2^nd, .390), OPS (4^th, .832), average (5^th, .291), slugging percentage (6^th, .442) and RBI (T7^th, 43).

Third Baseman/First Baseman Yohandy Morales

• Washington’s No. 5 prospect, per Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com.
• Played at four levels after being selected in the second round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft.
• Combined to hit .349 with 16 doubles, four triples and 32 RBI in 42 games across all levels, finishing the season at Double-A Harrisburg.
• Led all of Single-A with 52 hits from Aug. 1 through the end of the season and tied for the lead with 15 doubles. He also ranked in extra-base hits (T4th, 19) and RBI (T6th, 31) over that span.
• Reached safely in his first 34 professional games and hit safely in 26 of the first 29 games.

Outfielder Andrew Pinckney

• Fourth-round selection in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft from the University of Alabama.
• Played at four levels in his debut professional season, hitting .321 with eight doubles, a triple and four home runs with 20 RBI in 41 games, finishing the season at Double-A Harrisburg.

Catcher Israel Pineda

• Ranked in Washington’s system in RBI (T3^rd, 71), slugging percentage (T4^th, .458), extra-base hits (T6^th, 38), homers (T6^th, 16), OPS (7^th, .783) and average (9^th, .258) in 2022, but missed most of 2023 due to injuries.
• Made his Major League debut in 2022, playing in four games for Washington.

Right-handed pitcher Orlando Ribalta

• Went 4-1 with two saves and a 3.89 ERA in 27 games across five levels of Washington’s system in 2023.

Catcher Max Romero Jr.

• Hit seven home runs, the first homers of his professional career, in 54 games for Single-A Fredericksburg in 2023.
• The ninth-round pick in 2022 from the University of Miami went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs on Aug. 29, 2023 vs. Lynchburg, the first multi-homer game of his professional career.

Right-handed pitcher Jackson Rutledge

• Ranked among Nationals Minor Leaguers in opponents’ average (1st, .227), ERA (3rd, 3.71), wins (T3rd, 8), WHIP (4th, 1.27) and strikeouts (T4th, 106) in 2023.
• Was recalled on Sept. 13, 2023 and made his MLB debut at Pittsburgh. He earned his first MLB win on Sept. 24 vs. Atlanta. 

Right-handed pitcher Tyler Schoff

• A non-drafted free agent in 2021, Schoff finished 2023 with 10 saves, tied for second-most among Nationals Minor Leaguers.
• He struck out 83 batters in 62.1 innings across between High-A Wilmington, Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester in 2023.

Right-handed pitcher Jarlin Susana

• Enters the season rated by Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com as Washington’s No. 10 prospect and as the pitcher with the “Best Fastball” and “Best Slider” in the system.
• Made 17 starts with Single-A Fredericksburg. Did not allow an earned run in seven of those outings.
• Was the top-ranked pitcher in the 2021-22 international class according to MLB.com.

Outfielder Cristhian Vaquero

• Enters the season rated by Baseball America as Washington’s No. 8 prospect and by MLBPipeline.com as the No. 9 prospect.
• Promoted to Single-A Fredericksburg after hitting in 21 of his last 28 games (.312/.449/.430) with the FCL Nationals in 2023.
• Was the No. 2 prospect in the 2022 international signing class according to MLB.com.

First baseman TJ White

• White enters the season rated by Baseball America as Washington’s No. 28 prospect and by MLBPipline.com as the No. 30 prospect.

Right-handed pitcher Amos Willingham

• Former 17th round pick in the 2019 First-Year Draft made his Major League debut in 2023.
• Went 5-1 with five saves and a 2.02 ERA in 28 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester. He recorded 36 strikeouts and allowed just one homer in 35.2 innings pitched.

Outfielder James Wood

• Let Major League Baseball with a 1.214 OPS and ranked second with a .509 on-base percentage in Spring Training.
• Washington’s No. 2 prospect and one of the top 15 prospects in all of baseball. He is the “Best Defensive Outfielder” and the “Best Power Hitter” in Washington’s system, per Baseball America.
• Was Washington’s Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2022 and 2023.