2026 MLB Draft Review: Washington Nationals

The players

The Nationals’ top pick was used on Chris Hacopian, who for two years starred at nearby College Park, Maryland, with the Terrapins.

While Hacopian didn’t match his .375 batting average with Maryland in 2026 at Texas A&M, he did hit .319 with 11 home runs for the Aggies. Very impressive hit tool for Hacopian. He never struck out much at all over the course of his three years and showed a propensity to put the ball in play, even in summer wood-bat ball.

Hacopian profiles as an everyday second baseman at the MLB level.

Washington dipped into the college ranks again, taking TCU outfielder Chase Brunson in the second round. Brunson signed for $1.8MM, saving the Nationals a little more than $500,000 in pool money. That would come in handy later on. But getting back to Brunson, he can hit for both contact & power, and did with the Horned Frogs.

The junior outfielder had double-digit home run seasons both in 2025 and 2026.

Washington used nearly $2.5MM to get Luke Williams, a Pennsylvania high school shortstop, in the third round. A plus runner with a strong arm at short, Williams is one of these types of pure athletes that MLB clubs covet in the draft.

Again, in the third round, the Nationals went high school, grabbing 6’3” pitcher Cooper Harris. A projectable pitcher, one who was hitting the mid-90s in high school, and who also utilized a slider.

The Nationals broke up the high school picks when the club grabbed Daniel Cuvet in the fourth round. Cuvet entered the 2026 NCAA season as one of the top college power hitters, as he hit 42 home runs between 2024 and 2025. After a .372 season in his sophomore season, Cuvet hit just .305 with 12 home runs over a shortened, 41-game campaign.

Cuvet is a big boy at 6’3” and 240 pounds. A primary third baseman now, Cuvet will likely be handicapped to first base in the long-term, which does bring down his overall value. As a right-handed hitting corner infielder, Cuvet will have to hit to make it to the big leagues.

Washington then took two of the best strikeout pitchers not from a premier conference in 2026: Cooper Allen and Gage Peterson. Allen punched out 96 over 87 IP with UNC Wilmington, while Peterson struck out 107 over 85 innings. Peterson finished in the top-40 of DI in strikeouts.

After the first-half of the draft, Washington’s run on college players continued.

The Nationals drafted another Texas A&M player, Weston Moss, in the 11th round. Not a hard thrower, only sitting in the low-90s. But three distinct pitches: the fastball, changeup, and sweeping slider.

Matthew Dallas was a notable high school prospect but went to Tennessee to start his collegiate career. Dallas didn’t stick there and wound up spending 2025 and 2026 with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. A left-hander whose fastball sat in the high-80s to low-90s. Only pitched in two games this year, striking out 14 over seven frames.

Zack Konstantinovsky missed all of 2025 but pitched well with Rutgers in 2026. Konstantinovsky struck out 83 over 70 innings with the Scarlet Knights.

The big sleeper in this draft class is Avery Ortiz, whom the Nationals signed for a shade over $210,000. Ortiz missed most of 2025 and 2026 but has some pop.