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PROSPECT REVIEW: KEVIN MADE
Age on opening day 2024: 21
How acquired: Traded with DJ Herz from Cubs for Jeimer Candelario and cash in July 2023; originally signed as international free agent by Cubs from Dominican Republic, July 2019
Ranking: No. 15 per MLB Pipeline, NR per Baseball America
MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline
PROSPECT REVIEW: ANDREW PINCKNEY
Age on opening day 2024: 23
How acquired: Drafted in fourth round in 2023 from University of Alabama
Ranking: No. 19 per MLB Pipeline, NR per Baseball America
MLB ETA: 2026
* Projected by MLB Pipeline
PLAYER REVIEW: HUNTER HARVEY
Age on Opening Day 2024: 29
How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Giants, March 2022
MLB service time: 4 years, 47 days
2023 salary: $870,000
Frank Howard, the hulking slugger who won over a generation of Washington baseball fans with his towering home runs and genteel personality, has died at 87, the Nationals announced this afternoon.
Affectionately known to fans as “Hondo,” “The Capitol Punisher” and “The Washington Monument,” Howard played 16 seasons in four major league cites and spent another two decades coaching and managing for six other organizations. But his legacy was defined by the seven seasons he spent with the Washington Senators from 1965-71, blasting homers into the upper deck at RFK Stadium and becoming every local baseball fan’s favorite player for life, including one young D.C. native who would eventually own the city’s next big league club.
“Growing up a baseball fan in Washington, D.C., Frank Howard was my hero,” Nationals managing principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement released by the team. “The towering home runs he hit into the stands at RFK Stadium gave him the nickname ‘Capital Punisher,’ but I’ll always remember him as a kind and gentle man. The entire Lerner family would like to offer our thoughts and condolences to Frank’s family during this difficult time. The world of baseball has truly lost a giant.”
Standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 255 pounds, Howard would’ve been a physically imposing hitter in today’s game. In the 1960s and ’70s, he was a jaw-dropping presence in a sport not known for producing many players of that stature.
Signed by the Dodgers out of Ohio State in March 1958, Howard made his major league debut that September. The outfielder became a full-time big leaguer in 1960 and won National League Rookie of the Year honors, then finished ninth in the MVP race two seasons later.
The Washington Nationals join the Howard family in mourning the loss of Washington Senators great Frank Howard. Howard’s decades-long career as a player, coach and manager leaves an indelible legacy on the sport of baseball, and he will long be remembered as one of the best players to ever wear the Curly W.
“Growing up a baseball fan in Washington D.C., Frank Howard was my hero,” said Washington Nationals Managing Principal Owner Mark D. Lerner. “The towering home runs he hit into the stands at RFK Stadium gave him the nickname ‘Capital Punisher,’ but I’ll always remember him as a kind and gentle man. The entire Lerner family would like to offer our thoughts and condolences to Frank’s family during this difficult time. The world of baseball has truly lost a giant.”
Inducted into the Nationals Park Ring of Honor in 2016 for his contributions to Washington D.C. baseball, Howard hit 237 of his 382 career home runs during his seven-year tenure with the Senators from 1965-71, ranking behind only Ryan Zimmerman for most career long balls while representing Washington D.C. The Nationals’ tradition of identifying the landing spots of long or significant home runs at Nationals Park pays homage to the white seats at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial (RFK) Stadium that marked the mammoth home runs hit by Howard.
“I’d like to send my deepest condolences to the family of Frank Howard,” said Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo. “Frank was a legendary figure in this town and a player that D.C. baseball fans truly admired. I had the utmost respect for him both as a ballplayer and as a human being, and it was always a pleasure seeing him at Nationals Park. He was generous with his time and was never afraid to pass along his knowledge and wisdom. He will be missed.”
“Hondo” came to D.C. on Dec. 4, 1964, as part of a seven-player trade with the Dodgers, and a love affair between player and town began almost immediately. Teammates, media and fans alike marveled at Howard’s tape-measure home runs, many of which taunted cavernous D.C. Stadium’s dimensions.
PLAYER REVIEW: KYLE FINNEGAN
Age on Opening Day 2024: 32
How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2019
MLB service time: 4 years
2023 salary: $2.325 million
PLAYER REVIEW: THADDEUS WARD
Age on Opening Day 2024: 27
How acquired: Selected in Rule 5 draft, December 2022
MLB service time: 1 year
2023 salary: $720,000
PLAYER REVIEW: JACKSON RUTLEDGE
Age on Opening Day 2024: 24
How acquired: First-round pick, 2019 Draft
MLB service time: 19 days
2023 salary: $720,000
PLAYER REVIEW: JAKE IRVIN
Age on Opening Day 2024: 27
How acquired: Fourth-round pick, 2018 Draft
MLB service time: 152 days
2023 salary: $720,000
PROSPECT REVIEW: TREY LIPSCOMB
Age on opening day 2024: 23
How acquired: Drafted in third round in 2022 from the University of Tennessee
Ranking: No. 14 per MLB Pipeline, No. 15 per Baseball America
MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline
PLAYER REVIEW: TREVOR WILLIAMS
Age on Opening Day 2024: 31
How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2022
MLB service time: 7 years, 27 days
2023 salary: $6 million
The Washington Nationals announced the hiring of three members in their scouting department on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.
- Danny Haas – Vice President, Amateur Scouting
- Brad Ciolek – Senior Director, Amateur Scouting
- Reed Dunn – Assistant Director & National Crosschecker, Amateur Scouting
Haas, 47, joins the Nationals after spending the previous five seasons (2019-23) as a special assignment scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Prior to his time with Arizona, Haas worked for the Baltimore Orioles from 2012-18, first as a national crosschecker (2012-14) before being promoted to special assistant to the executive vice president of baseball operations (2015-18). He worked for the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2011, spending the final six seasons (2006-11) as a regional crosschecker, and in 2004, was named Boston’s Scout of the Year. He joined the scouting ranks with the Red Sox in 2002 after a five-year professional career from 1997 to 2001. A native of Paducah, Kentucky, Haas played college baseball at both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville. He was selected by the Red Sox the 18th round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft out of Louisville where he earned a degree in criminal justice.
Ciolek, 37, spent last 12 years as a member of the Baltimore Orioles scouting department, most recently as their director of draft operations (2022-23). Prior to that role, he served as their supervisor of domestic scouting operations (2019-22), assistant director of scouting (2017-19) and scouting administrator (2013-16). He joined the Orioles in 2011 as a player development intern at their complex in Sarasota, Florida. Prior to joining Baltimore, he spent four seasons (2007-10) with the New York Mets and one year (2012) as an analyst for Bloomberg Sports. Ciolek graduated from Seton Hall University in 2009 with a degree business administration and earned his Master of Business Administration in computer information systems from Colorado State University in 2017.
Dunn, 39, returns to the Nationals after working in the Atlanta Braves amateur scouting department from 2014-2023, most recently as their East Coast crosschecker. Dunn’s regional scouting coverage included the drafting of players such as Michael Harris II, Austin Riley, Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright, among others. Dunn began his career in baseball with the Washington Nationals in 2007 as a scouting assistant, a role he held until 2009, until he was promoted to scouting coordinator. He was promoted to area scout in 2010 and spent the next four years covering amateur players in Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. Dunn graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2007 with a degree in sports management.
PROSPECT REVIEW: CRISTHIAN VAQUERO
Age on opening day 2024: 19
How acquired: Signed as international free agent, January 2022
Ranking: No. 9 per MLB Pipeline, No. 9 per Baseball America
MLB ETA: 2027
* Projected by MLB Pipeline
PLAYER REVIEW: PATRICK CORBIN
Age on Opening Day 2024: 34
How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2018
MLB service time: 11 years, 105 days
2023 salary: $24 million
PROSPECT REVIEW: YOHANDY MORALES
Age on opening day 2024: 22
How acquired: Drafted in second round in 2023 from the University of Miami (FL)
Ranking: No. 7 per MLB Pipeline, No. 8 per Baseball America
MLB ETA: 2026
* Projected by MLB Pipeline
PLAYER REVIEW: MACKENZIE GORE
Age on Opening Day 2024: 25
How acquired: Traded with CJ Abrams, James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Jarlin Susana and Luke Voit from Padres for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022
MLB service time: 2 years
2023 salary: $723,300
PLAYER REVIEW: JOSIAH GRAY
Age on Opening Day 2024: 26
How acquired: Traded with Keibert Ruiz, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo from Dodgers for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021
MLB service time: 2 years, 75 days
2023 salary: $730,000
PROSPECT REVIEW: DAYLEN LILE
Age on opening day 2024: 21
How acquired: Drafted in second round in 2021 from Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky.
Ranking: No. 6 per MLB Pipeline, No. 14 per Baseball America
MLB ETA: 2025
* Projected by MLB Pipeline
PLAYER REVIEW: VICTOR ROBLES
Age on Opening Day 2024: 26
How acquired: Signed as international free agent, July 2013
MLB service time: 5 years, 33 days
2023 salary: $2.325 million
PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS
Age on Opening Day 2024: 27
How acquired: Traded from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021
MLB service time: 2 years, 50 days
2023 salary: $728,800
