theathleticuk
BOSTON On Monday afternoon, Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni looked around Fenway Park, the place where he once ran the draft and development systems, and thought about the perspective he had gained.
Eighteen months ago, the Red Sox and stop me if this sounds familiar looked like they had solved hitting development, but still had a long way to go on the mound.
Now, they are in a position to throw Connelly Early and Payton Tolle two productive arms Toboni helped draft and develop in Boston against their old assistant GM, all while the offense scuffles.
I bring it up to suggest that things can change pretty quickly, Toboni said.
Advertisement With the draft coming up, dont expect the Nationals to over-index on pitchers, though the trade deadline could be a different story.
They will not confine themselves to one type of pitcher, but athletes who have velocity or project to add even more, and those who have nasty breaking pitches, will be a priority.
Anyone who they believe will miss bats will be at the top of their target list.
At the moment, many of the farm systems top pitchers are injured (Jarlin Susana, Travis Sykora), far away from the majors (Miguel Sime Jr.), or still working through significant concerns (Luis Perales).
But its worth checking in on their arms, high-ranking or hard-throwing, to see how they could one day help a roster that desperately needs support on the mound.
Lets call this the no-hitter edition.
Stats are updated through Monday.
Jarlin Susana (RHP) Current level (age): Rehabbing in Florida (22) The Athletics rank: No.
6 in the Nats preseason Top 20.
What hes doing: Throwing 102 in his first bullpen.
What it means: Hes still got it, but probably wont show it in Washington this year.
Nationals reliever Max Kranick had never seen anything like it.
He spent his first month with the organization rehabbing with Susana at the teams complex in Florida.
One day, he stopped and stared as Susana took a running start and delivered a max effort throw.
The radar read 106 mph.
In his first bullpen, Susana hit 102.
We would never want a guy to get to 102 in their first bullpen, but he was doing it with very little effort, farm director Devin Pearson told The Athletic.
Setting his velo ranges are different than any other player weve kind of worked with.
So were still trying to figure that out.
But its more of an effort level thing than velocity at this time.
We wanted to be smart about that.
Advertisement If Susana, who underwent lat surgery in 2025, does not suffer any setbacks (and he has not had any yet) the team expects he will face hitters by the end of the season.
Washington has not yet determined whether that will come in games or a more controlled environment.
The chances of an MLB debut this year feel exceptionally slim.
Once he is back to 100 percent, the organization will work with him on his command, and could experiment in turning his word-class slider into two distinct pitches.
That, of course, is TBD.
Officials within the organization say they still view him as a starter, and will continue to do so until he proves them otherwise.
Few arms, of course, can sustain 102 mph heaters and high-spin sliders on a starters workload.
But the Nationals are banking that Susanas sturdy 6-foot-6 frame and athleticism can handle the stress that sitting triple-digits puts on the body.
Jackson Kent (LHP) Current level (age): Triple-A Rochester (23) The Athletics rank: Unranked in the Nats preseason Top 20.
What hes doing: Getting more right-handers out.
What it means: The lefty could be up by the end of the season.
The No.
1 indicator that suggests whether a prospect is ready to join a big-league rotation is if they can get both right-handed and left-handed hitters out.
Well ..
| AVG | OPS | K rate | | |---|---|---|---| Against RHB | 0.229 | 0.660 | 30.5 | Against LHB | 0.150 | 0.509 | 29.1 | Last year, Kent could beat lefties with a scouting report.
Now, he has the weapons to get righties out, too.
No pitcher in the organization has improved their stock more over the last six months.
A self-starter at heart, the lefty worked out in Arizona this winter and found a delivery that sent him down the mound quicker.
The fastball now sits around 93 to 94 mph.
The oft-used slider is in a good place, and his command of the pitch has taken a big step forward.
The changeup has improved as the season has gone along.
He is now getting a 34 percent whiff rate against right-handed batters.
For a lefty, thats excellent.
Advertisement Theres no reason he couldnt be up in the majors in the next couple months if he maintains his velocity (around 93 mph at the lowest, touching 95 and 96 at the highest).
Still, that will be a hurdle: In his last time out, he was back around 91 to 92 mph in the later innings.
Robert Cranz (RHP) Current level (age): Triple-A Rochester (23) The Athletics rank: Unranked in the Nats preseason Top 20.
What hes doing: Throwing harder with mixed results.
What it means: There is a path to pitching in Washingtons bullpen this year, but maybe not this month.
Six months ago, Cranz sat 92 mph with his fastball.
Three months ago, he made his season debut with High-A Wilmington.
Here, a bit beyond the seasons halfway point, he is in Triple-A Rochester and averaging 95.5 mph on his fastball.
Cranz is the quintessential minor-league success story.
He is throwing from a high release height, which with added velocity and a lot of ride, makes it a nightmare for hitters at the top of the zone.
It also makes him prone to hard contact, especially given command issues.
So while he will have a chance to pitch with the big-league club this year a remarkable developmental feat, no doubt counting on him to provide a spark in the next few weeks feels unwise.
His next quest: Solving left-handed hitters.
That would probably have to come from an off-speed pitch, which he and the organization are working on behind the scenes.
He has allowed nine runs in 4 1/3 innings with Rochester.
Still, an above-average fastball and a slider that had a 50 percent whiff rate in Double-A is something to build on.
Yoel Tejeda Jr.
(RHP) Current level (age): High-A Wilmington (22) The Athletics rank: No.
15 in the Nats preseason Top 20.
What hes doing: Throwing with Miz-like extension.
What it means: The Nats like leaning into unique characteristics.
The further a pitcher extends down the mound, the less time a hitter has to react to a pitch.
Its why Jacob Misiorowski is so unhittable: His average fastball sits 100.3 mph, but because he pairs it with 7.6 feet of extension, it looks like 102.6 mph out of his hand.
Advertisement Tejeda does not sit 100 mph.
Pitchers who were drafted in the 14th round rarely do.
But hes increased his extension to 7.5 feet this year, and over his last few outings, has sat around 95 mph.
Last Tuesday, he topped out at 97.8 mph.
Thats all up from last season.
Its attributable to a few delivery tweaks, which could still stand to be a little lower-effort, but its more about the routine.
He threw just 42 1/3 innings in college.
Hes still learning the process.
Additionally: Tobonis old organization was known to covet pitchers with elite extension, though its far too early to say if Washington will replicate that operation here.
Tejeda sports a 3.59 ERA in High-A Wilmington, with a 1.38 ERA in June that suggests he could be ready for a promotion before the end of the season.
Erick Mejia Current level (age): Triple-A Rochester (31) The Athletics rank: Unranked in the Nats preseason Top 20.
What hes doing: Throwing absolute filth.
What it means: Six seasons after last appearing in the majors as a position player he has given himself a real shot to get back.
At the end of 2024, Mejia was a utility player with a .606 OPS in Triple-A Rochester.
Two years later, he is back at the affiliate as a flamethrowing righty with notably nasty stuff.
Among pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings in the organization this year, no one has a lower ERA (1.29) and only nine pitchers have a higher strikeout rate.
He has a brand-new slider, which should play well off the oft-used cutter.
He has yet to allow a run across four innings with Rochester, all while sitting 97 (and topping out at 99) with the heater.
One fun note, while were talking about stuff: The Nationals farm system ranked 29th in whiff rate last year.
It has sustained a top-10 mark this season.
Luis Perales Current level (age): Triple-A Rochester (23) The Athletics rank: No.
9 in the Nats preseason Top 20.
What hes doing: Throwing hard, but still not missing bats.
What it means: Pump the brakes on bringing him up.
Advertisement Despite the pleas of Nats fans, Perales still isnt missing enough bats to suggest he is ready for the majors.
At the moment, because of some command troubles, he is predictable.
Unless he is in a true advantage count (0-2 or 1-2) there is at least a 50 percent chance he will throw his cutter or his fastball.
Not only would it not help the big-league club to try him in Washington, it could hurt his development, too.
That is what will matter most to the organization.
This is, of course, harder to stomach given that he was traded for righty Jake Bennett, who sports a 3.27 ERA across six starts with Boston.
But these are the growing pains the team expected he would endure.
Hes still thrown fewer than 100 innings over the last three years.
Quick hits RHP Travis Sykora (Rehabbing, 22): The Nationals still view Sykora (Tommy John surgery) as a future frontline starter, given that he pitched to a 2.14 ERA with 208 strikeouts across his first 130 1/3 innings in pro ball.
Though the 2023 third-rounder has not had any setbacks, the Nationals are not committing to any timeline for a recovery.
He just started throwing off of a flat ground.
RHP Josh Randall (Double-A Harrisburg, 23): Randall added a cutter this season, which, in addition to his makeup, has helped the 23-year-old (who was acquired in the Kyle Finnegan trade last summer) ascend through the organization.
LHP Erik Tolman (Triple-A Rochester, 27): This is another one that is tough to unpack.
He has a 5.79 ERA.
He is also striking out one-third of the batters he faces, and has a newer, harder slider that the organization believes could help him turn the corner.
The team could obviously use a lefty who gets a lot of swing and miss, so this is someone to keep an eye on.
OK, and three hitters worth spotlighting: Gavin Fien (Class-A Fredericksburg, 19) had a .963 OPS in June amid a move to the outfield.
Eli Willits (High-A Wilmington, 18) might be the hottest prospect in the minor leagues, putting up a 1.113 OPS in June despite playing most of his games this month at a pitchers park.
And Cayden Wallace (Double-A Harrisburg, 24) was not protected by the org in the Rule 5 draft and now leads the system with 18 homers.