When Ethan Petry was selected as the Nationals’ second-round pick a month ago, he had no idea he would stick out like a sore thumb among the organization's first five picks. The University of South Carolina product was the only player of the Nats’ top-five selections to play in college.

The Nats’ first five picks all landed in both MLB Pipeline’s and Baseball America’s latest rankings of the organization's top 30 prospects. But the experienced Petry (No. 8 per Pipeline, No. 6 per Baseball America) has been the only one to get his professional career rolling, making his Single-A Fredericksburg debut on Tuesday with a hit, a run and a walk as the designated hitter.

“I'm really excited to start my career here with the Nationals,” Petry said Wednesday on the “District Chat” podcast. “Last night, got the win for Fredericksburg and just really excited to have the opportunity to play for the Nationals.”

Petry’s experience at South Carolina helped put him on a faster track to the pros than his high school draft classmates. The 21-year-old hit .321 with 10 doubles, one triple, 10 home runs, 34 RBIs, 26 walks and 30 runs scored in 44 games for the Gamecocks in 2025. He posted a .437 on-base percentage and a .590 slugging percentage while leading the team in home runs and ranking second in RBIs and walks.

Facing pitchers with similar or less experience in the Carolina League hasn’t been too hard.

As the Nationals have promoted some of their top prospects to the major league level this season – with more on the way – they have also moved some newer players up the minor league ranks.

Seaver King, last year’s first-round pick (No. 10 overall) out of Wake Forest, was recently promoted from High-A Wilmington to Double-A Harrisburg, just 45 games into his first full professional season.

King, who is ranked as the Nats’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 8 by Baseball America, hadn’t really experienced a promotion in his short time with the Nationals. After he was drafted, he finished the 2024 season by playing 20 games with Single-A Fredericksburg. Then he started this year straight at High-A before moving up to Double-A.

“It's something I haven't experienced quite yet. But it was good,” King said last week on the “District Chat” podcast. “We were on the road, so I got to enjoy my last bus ride with the guys in Wilmington. I got to spend my off-day there as well. And then drive up here, get ready for the game, and then come here after the game, after a walk-off win feeling good, and now I gotta unpack. So it's kind of one day of just tough work, but after that it's really enjoyable.”

The 22-year-old’s numbers at Wilmington didn’t blow anyone away, especially after a slow start to the season. But a .263 average, .687 OPS, 12 extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and 12 stolen bases while playing half of your games at pitcher-friendly Frawley Stadium is impressive enough to earn a promotion.

After the Nationals started 1-6, they have won four of their last five games. Winning cures all. Spirits are high.

But the Nats do find themselves with one problem. Don’t worry, it’s a good one to have.

There is a bit of an outfield conundrum forming in the Nats dugout, thanks to a scorching-hot start from Alex Call.

Call made the Opening Day roster as the fourth outfielder coming off the bench. Manager Davey Martinez announced early in spring training he was going to run out James Wood in left field, Jacob Young in center and rookie Dylan Crews in right on a daily basis to start the season.

But Crews struggled out of the gate, going hitless in his first 19 at-bats. Then Young was given a reset over the weekend after frustrations started to mount following his 1-for-15 start over his first eight games.

There’s only so much you can take away from the first six games of a new year. But dang it, we will try.

The Nationals’ first week of the 2025 season hasn’t gone totally according to plan. Their 1-5 record doesn’t look good on paper. But digging a little deeper, you start to see some positives they can hold their hats on.

Here are some observations from the Nats’ first week of play …

KEIBERT RUIZ IS HOT
Ruiz’s struggles in 2024 are well known. After he missed a lot of time early in the season with the flu and lost almost 20 pounds, he never fully recovered. He finished the year with a .229 average, .619 OPS, 13 home runs and 57 RBIs in 127 games last year, producing just 0.6 bWAR.

This year, he looks to be in much better shape and it’s paying off.