Looking at Nats' updated farm system

The last couple of weeks have not been kind to the Nationals. But the last month has been great for the organization’s farm system.

A lot was asked of Mike DeBartolo when he was given the interim general manager tag on July 6, exactly one week away from making the No. 1 overall selection in the MLB Draft. Two and half weeks later, he had to navigate a hectic trade deadline.

By all accounts, DeBartolo did a really good job for the Nationals’ future.

With No. 1 pick Eli Willits signing under slot value at $8.2 million, the Nats saved almost $3 million toward their bonus pool to draft and sign other high-potential players with their top five picks. Outfielder Ethan Petry (University of South Carolina), prep right-handers Landon Harmon and Miguel Sime Jr., and high school shortstop Coy James all signed well above their respective designated slot values.

And then just last week, DeBartolo was able to trade six major league players (five on expiring contracts and one that was not going to be a part of the young outfield's future) for 10 new prospects.

So now if you look at the Nats’ top 30 prospect rankings from some top publications, you see them bolstered with some new talent.

MLB Pipeline has not updated its top 30 rankings yet with the 2025 draft class, but Baseball America has. And each of the Nats’ first five picks from about a month ago land inside the top 20.

Willits enters the system as the No. 1 overall prospect, followed by Petry at No.8, James at No. 9, Harmon at No. 13 and Sime at No. 19.

The opposite is true as it pertains to the deadline acquisitions, where Pipeline has already included last week’s addition but Baseball America has not yet.

Both right-handed prospects the Nats acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for Alex Call enter the system near the top 10, with Sean Paul Liñan at No. 10 and Eriq Swan at No. 12. The two prospects acquired from the Cubs in the Michael Soroka trade are right there with them in outfielder Christian Franklin at No. 11 and shortstop Ronny Cruz at No. 13.

Right-handers Josh Randall (Kyle Finnegan trade to Tigers) and Clayton Beeter (Amed Rosario trade to Yankees) round out this group of trade deadline prospects at No. 23 and No. 24, respectively.

Left-hander Jake Eder, who was a part of the two-prospect package from the Angels for Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia, initially entered the system as the No. 29 prospect, but dropped out as more prospects were added closer to the deadline.

Obviously, both publications’ rankings will change soon as they add either the draft class or deadline acquisitions. But there are some other notes to keep in mind …

Brady House has already graduated from MLB Pipeline’s rankings, where he was the Nats’ No. 3 prospect. He’s still listed at No. 4 per Baseball America, but that should change soon.

Robert Hassell III (No. 9 per MLB Pipeline and No. 14 per Baseball America) and Daylen Lile (No. 7 per Baseball America) will also likely graduate soon, as will Andry Lara (No. 17 per MLB Pipeline and No. 23 per Baseball America) if he returns to the major leagues.

If Cade Cavalli sticks around for the remainder of the season, he could graduate from both, where he’s No. 6 per MLB Pipeline and No. 10 per Baseball America.

But while these rankings are fun to follow, what really matters is the players’ developments on the field. And that’s where DeBartolo’s focus will be over these last two months of the season as he tries to make a strong case to be the permanent GM.

“The amount of talent we've amassed in the last three weeks I think is exciting for the future,” DeBartolo said last week after the trade deadline. “When you look at the draft and some of the top guys we got there, and then adding in some of the players we got over the last few days, I think we've really added significant talent to the Nationals and the long-term focus of the team.

“We're going to still evaluate over the next two months kind of where things stand at the major league level. Take a close look at our young players that are here and some of the young players that can come up from Triple-A and really see what we think they can bring to the table for '26 and beyond. And just continue that evaluation process and just do everything we can to prepare for the offseason to be able to hit the ground running there as quickly as we can. That was a busy three-to-four weeks, and a lot more work left to do to get things where we want to go. And we're excited to do that.”

Amy Jennings and I gave a more in-depth look at the Nats’ updated minor league system on the latest episode of “District Chat.” Check out our full conversation about the farm and more by either watching this week’s episode here or listening to it on your favorite podcasting platform here.