Go back and peruse some random Nationals lineups from 2022, and you’re likely to find a lot of names who aren’t here anymore, many of them veterans in the waning days of their careers.
Move ahead to 2023, and you’ll find a few more promising young players, the so-called first wave of prospects who either were acquired via trade or drafted and developed from within. You’ll also still find a number of veteran stopgaps who have since departed.
The same was actually true early in 2024. Lest anyone forget, the Nats’ Opening Day lineup included the likes of Jesse Winker, Joey Meneses, Joey Gallo and Eddie Rosario, with Nick Senzel a planned part of that group until he fractured his thumb in pregame warmups.
By season’s end, though, the transformation was finally complete. The Nationals’ regular lineup was built almost entirely with young players, most of them at least potential long-term solutions.
James Wood, Dylan Crews and Jacob Young didn’t make the team out of spring training, but they were everyday players by Game 162. Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz weren’t in the Opening Day rotation, but they were trusted stalwarts before long.
This was the year the Nationals’ much-maligned farm system finally began to produce quality big leaguers, and that was as important a development in the big picture as anything.
“Player development did their job,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “We brought a lot of guys to the big leagues this year. We’re constantly fielding a seven-, eight-rookie lineup, each and every day. And so that’s attributed to the guys who select the players, and the scouts who make the trades and the guys who develop them.”
These weren’t all true homegrown players. Some, like Wood and Jose Tena, were acquired via trades. But there were more meaningful contributions from homegrown players than this franchise had enjoyed in a long time.
Crews, of course, was the big name to come out of the pack, the No. 2 overall selection in last summer’s draft reaching the majors in less than 14 months. But there were a bunch of lesser-touted prospects who emerged this year, a real win for an organization that has desperately needed something along these lines.
Jake Irvin, a fourth round pick in 2018, ranked among the league leaders with 33 starts and 187 2/3 innings while producing a 1.199 WHIP and making a serious All-Star case for himself in the first half.
Parker, a fifth round pick in 2020, made 29 starts and allowed three earned runs or less in 22 of them.
Young, a seventh round pick in 2021, started 142 games in center field and established himself as a legitimate Gold Glove Award candidate.
Trey Lipscomb (2022 third round pick), Darren Baker (2021 10th round pick), Orlando Ribalta (2019 12th round pick) and Zach Brzykcy (undrafted in 2020) all made their major league debuts, as well.
The Nationals hadn’t had a drafted position player total 500 big league plate appearances for them since Anthony Rendon (2011). They hadn’t had a drafted pitcher total 100 big league innings for them since Erick Fedde (2014).
And remarkably, they hadn’t had a non-first-round pick produce more than 2 WAR during the entirety of their time in D.C. since Michael A. Taylor (2009). They nearly had three such players do that for them this season alone: Young (2.7), Parker (2.4) and Irvin (1.8).
“I think the cool thing about it is, it shows that in this organization, you don’t have to be ‘The Guy’ to come up and make a difference,” Irvin said. “For a team that’s really young, having guys that have come up with little expectation and going above and beyond, it’s been pretty awesome. And I think it speaks volumes about the type of character that these guys have.”
There’s still considerable work to be done. The Nationals need the players who have debuted in the last two years to ascend into consistently productive big leaguers. They need the next wave (Brady House, Yoyo Morales, Travis Sykora) to arrive and begin making a difference, as well. And they need big name prospects who haven’t enjoyed immediate success in the minors (Elijah Green) to figure it out before it’s too late.
But the Nats’ farm system clearly is in a better state now than it has been in years, producing promising big leaguers at last, and that’s a source of pride for members of the organization tasked with turning it around.
“I think you’re proud no matter who gets up here,” said Eddie Longosz, who became vice president of player development this season after a long stint in the club’s scouting department. “I think the ultimate goal, whether you’re a first rounder, a 20th rounder or post-draft, you want to get them up here. They got drafted and signed for a reason, whether they were a first round pick or later. You just want to get them up here.”