January chugs along and that can mean only one thing around these parts: it’s time to rank minor-league prospects. Every team across the majors is selling hope to their fans: some are selling it in a more immediate fashion, in the form of active offseasons full of free-agent signings and trade acquisitions. Others, meanwhile, are selling it in the personage of prospects who could make the difference over the coming years.
CBS Sports is underway examining the top three prospects in each organization. Our definition of “prospect” is simple: does that player have rookie eligibility remaining for the 2025 season? If so, they’re a prospect; if not, that’s probably why your favorite young player is absent from the proceedings.
As always, these lists are formed following conversations with scouts, analysts, player development specialists, and other talent evaluators around the industry. There’s a fair amount of firsthand evaluation, statistical analysis, and historical research mixed in, too. Plus a heaping of personal bias — we all have certain traits and profiles that we prefer over others, there’s no sense pretending otherwise.
Keep in mind that there’s no one right answer with these sorts of things. Besides, these are merely our opinions, meaning they have no actual bearing on the future. We already published our ranking of the top 25 prospects in all of the minors.
With all that out of the way, let’s get to ranking the top three prospects in the Washington Nationals system.
Top 25 rank: No. 2
The short hook: Capable center fielder with above-average offensive potential
When it comes to prospects, familiarity can beget fatigue as efficiently as it can breed contempt. Crews, nearing his fifth consecutive year on the national radar, remains a quality prospect (several sources argued for him in the top spot of the MLB list) despite having not achieved instant stardom like his collegiate teammate Paul Skenes. He combines center-field athleticism with above-average offensive traits; even during his month-long cameo in the majors, he showed an aptitude for making sound contact and minding the strike zone. Crews’ swing isn’t conducive to maximizing his home-run count, but in the near term his output at the plate could resemble something along the lines of Randy Arozarena (who, over the last four seasons, has averaged 21 home runs and 24 stolen bases to go with a 120 OPS+). MLB ETA: Already debuted
The short hook: Top-10 pick with electric traits
King transferred from Wingate to Wake Forest ahead of his platform season, upping the difficulty level at a time when he’d be under greater evaluative scrutiny. That decision paid off, with him performing well enough in the ACC (.954 OPS) to justify a top-10 selection. King has a splendid power-speed combination that gives him some tantalizing right-tail outcomes. There were concerns about his approach heading into the draft, and those could undercut his ultimate offensive upside. Defensively, evaluators are split on where he’ll wind up over the long haul (though they tend to agree it’ll be somewhere up the middle). The Nationals have thus far played King only at shortstop, suggesting they’ll give him a good long look there before making a call. MLB ETA: Summer 2026
The short hook: Powerhouse right-hander with command concerns
We flipped an imaginary coin to settle who received this spot between Sykora and Jarlin Susana. They both fit the same basic profile: strong righties with serious command (and therefore role) question marks. Sykora won out, but they’re interchangeable in our minds. To his credit, he has demonstrated more control than Susana despite an unorthodox delivery that includes a high leg kick and a late arm stroke. Otherwise? Sykora’s arsenal, led by a mid-90s fastball and splitter, should enable him some kind of big-league career, be it in the middle of a rotation or in a high-leverage relief role. MLB ETA: Spring 2027
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