Several of the Nationals’ top prospects have been given an invitation to participate in major league camp this spring, including infielder Seaver King and pitchers Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana.
The Nats announced non-roster invitations to 10 players from within the organization, giving them an opportunity to work alongside those already on the 40-man roster.
King is perhaps the most notable name on the list, considering the 22-year-old has only one full season of professional experience at this point. Selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 Draft, he played in 20 games for low Single-A Fredericksburg that summer, then returned last season to play 45 games at high Single-A Wilmington and 80 at Double-A Harrisburg.
King struggled at times at the plate during the season, slashing just .244/.294/.337, but he enjoyed a highly productive turn in the Arizona Fall League, slashing a robust .359/.468/.563 in 18 games, scoring 21 runs while driving in 24 and stealing six bases.
The versatile infielder was known for playing all around the field at Wake Forest, but the Nationals so far have kept him exclusively at shortstop, believing they can move him to another position down the road if needed.
Sykora and Susana remain the organization’s top two pitching prospects. Unfortunately, neither is going to be able to participate much in camp this spring.
Sykora, who got his first non-roster invitation, had Tommy John surgery in August and is expected to miss all of the 2026 season. Nevertheless, the Nats want the dynamic 21-year-old to gain experience working alongside the major league pitching staff and coaches before continuing his long rehab program after camp breaks.
Susana was briefly in major league camp last spring and returns for his second year, albeit under different circumstances this time. The flamethrowing 21-year-old battled several injuries last season and ultimately required surgery to repair a torn lat muscle. The club hasn’t formally declared a timeline for his return, but Susana isn’t expected to be ready to open the season on time.
One other pitcher received a non-roster invitation: Shinnosuke Ogasawara, the Japanese left-hander who signed a two-year, $3.5 million last winter but struggled in 23 major league games and was outrighted off the 40-man roster following the season. He remains in the organization and is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Rochester, with an opportunity to show the new coaching staff and front office if he can earn his way back to the majors.
Catcher Caleb Lomavita returns for his second major league camp. The 39th overall pick of the 2024 Draft hit .275/.340/.374 in 108 games, almost all of them at Wilmington, and figures to be the starting catcher at Harrisburg to begin this season.
King will be joined by three fellow infielders, all of whom were in big league camp last spring. Trey Lipscomb returns, hoping to earn his way back onto the 40-man roster after playing in 64 combined MLB games the last two seasons. Yohandy Morales could make a push for what at the moment appears to be a wide-open competition at first base, the 24-year-old coming off a season in which he totaled 31 doubles, 15 homers and 71 RBIs in 128 games between Harrisburg and Rochester. Cayden Wallace, 24, will try to re-establish himself as a potential utilityman for the organization.
Two outfielders who put up big numbers in the minors last season received invitations to camp: Phillip Glasser and Andrew Pinckney. Glasser, 26, slashed .302/.389/.404 with 32 stolen bases at Double-A and Triple-A. Pinckney, 25, hit 20 homers with 34 steals and a .780 OPS at Rochester.