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By The Washington Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Griff McGarry in the first round of the 2025 Major League Rule 5 Draft. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.
McGarry, 26, ranked fourth in Minor League Baseball with 13.34 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (min. 80.0 IP) and fourth in the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League system with 124 strikeouts en route to being named 2025 Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He went 2-5 with a 3.44 ERA and a .180 opponents’ batting average in 21 starts between Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Double-A Reading and Single-A Clearwater. From Aug. 1 through the end of the season, McGarry pitched to a 2.34 ERA (11 ER/42.1 IP) with 70 strikeouts and a .166 opponents’ average in nine starts.
Selected in the fifth round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Virginia, McGarry has posted 13.17 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and a .182 opponents’ batting average in five professional seasons. His strikeouts per 9.0 innings mark ranks third in all of Minor League Baseball, and his opponents’ average is good for fourth over that span (min. 250.0 IP).
In 2022, McGarry ranked among Phillies Minor Leaguers in strikeouts (3rd, 130) and innings pitched (8th, 87.1). He began his career as a starter before transitioning to the bullpen in 2024. McGarry returned to the starting rotation in 2025. He is 10-17 with a 4.14 ERA in 103 career games (61 starts).
McGarry is a native of San Francisco, Calif., and graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School. He was selected in the 31st round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft but chose to attend the University of Virginia where he graduated with a degree in American studies.
