"The Washington Nationals are an organization that has their focus set on the future. If that was not made abundantly clear by their moves throughout the offseason, then anyone denying that notion has simply not been paying enough attention. In fact, while the Nationals have not been competitive since winning the World Series back in 2019, the club effectively reset their rebuild and waved the white flag on the first try back in July."
"The Nationals ended up deviating from what could be inferred later on was Rizzo wanting lefty Kade Anderson out of LSU due to how quickly he could make the big leagues, and selected prep shortstop Eli Willits. Time will tell if that decision ended up being a correct one, but showed a stark difference from the previous draft strategy under Rizzo."
"He had become the Ivy League's leader in career home runs with 54, and his lone season at Texas A&M saw him produce a .985 OPS for the Aggies. He debuted last season between Low-A Fredericksburg and High-A Wilmington after being drafted, and posted a .965 OPS with Low-A before struggling after being promoted to High-A with just a .195 OPS."
The Washington Nationals shifted toward a long-term rebuild, making front-office changes and altering draft strategy. Mike Rizzo was fired in July, a week before the #1 overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. The club selected prep shortstop Eli Willits with the top pick, deviating from previous emphasis on college lefty Kade Anderson. The 2025 draft class produced multiple promising players across rounds. One mid-round selection, Wyatt Henseler, arrived after four seasons at Penn and one at Texas A&M, posting strong college power numbers. Henseler debuted in Low-A and High-A, showing a strong Low-A OPS but struggling after promotion.
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