Three Nats Make the BA Top 100

It’s Top 100 season again, and the Nats have held serve with three Nats making Baseball America’s 2025 Top 100 prospects.

Two of three are here for the first time, as James Wood—last year’s #11–graduated to the big club while Brady House was dropped from the list (though ostensibly not too far off as MLB Pipeline has him ranked as the #7 Third Base prospect).

Dylan Crews returns at #6 for 2025, while he’s joined by RHPs Travis Sykora (#59) and Jarlin Susana (#67). And the hits don’t stop ’til we get to the top.

Here’s a look at the three, reprinted with permission 😉 from the 2025 Watchlist and Player Reports that are almost finished. MLB is expected to release its Pipeline Top 100, so I supposed there’s a chance their evaluators may sneak a fourth prospect into its list:

DYLAN CREWS
With the, um, prospect of garnering an extra draft pick, the Nats made sure to keep Crews just under MLB’s rookie thresholds so he can potentially win the 2025 ROY award. The better news is that absent the Super Two subterfuge that’s now a moot point, Crews is a nearly a lock to make Washington’s Opening Day roster and spot in the lineup – most likely right field until Jacob Young’s slipper turns into a pumpkin. Or Robert Hassell is ready.

TRAVIS SYKORA
The wait was worth it. Sykora did not pitch in 2023 and was carefully managed in 2024 with his first appearance coming in May and did not pitch more than five innings and or with less than six days’ rest. He throws hard (94-96) with his “offspeed” pitch being his low-80s slider. There is some concern that less than 50% of pitches were in the strike zone, though some of that is that he likes to work at or above the top of the zone. While some may fantasize he’ll be skipped past High-A, there’s no reason to believe he’ll be treated differently than Cade Cavalli and asked to endure Wilmington for a few starts.

JARLIN SUSANA
It might be safe to say that 2024 was the year that Susana went from a thrower to a pitcher. There weren’t as many 100+ mph pitches but there a lot more swing-and-miss 88-to-90mph sliders as his 13.6 K/9IP suggests. He also has a low-90s changeup, which is not as as refnined. Developing it may be the key to whether he ends up starting or relieving as he goes up the ladder. The smart money says they’ll give him every opportunity to work on refining the change at AA in 2025.

Happy Thursday!