Intriguing Washington Nationals Pitching Prospect Wowing Organization

Major League general managers will tell you there are no throwaway picks in the draft. After all, Mike Piazza is in the Baseball Hall of Fame and he was a 62nd round pick.

These days, the draft is only 20 rounds, which makes maximizing every pick more important. That’s why, long after the television cameras have left after the first day of the draft, general managers and scouts still pour over reports and debate who to take.

That’s how a team like the Washington Nationals drafts a pitcher like Brad Lord.

Recently, MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo stopped into Nationals camp to write about those two Top 100 prospects, Jarlin Susana and Travis Sykora. But he also highlighted the camp standout from the prospect perspective, and he called out Lord.

Lord’s numbers in spring training, where he’s on a non-roster invitation, have been turning heads. He’s pitched 7.1 innings in relief and has given up just one earned run. He’s now a Top 30 prospect in the organization, ranked No. 24 by MLB Pipeline, on the strength of a rock solid 2024.

Nationals farm director Eddie Longosz said that he sees Lord reaching the Majors one day, with a role to be determined.

"He's a strike machine, gets ahead with a four-seamer and two-seamer," Longosz said. "The secondaries are good but he just fools with the fastball. He can sink it, he can run it. He was a great starter last year. He came out of nowhere."

So, what happened last year?

The Nationals drafted Lord out of USF in the 18th round in 2022 and he didn’t pitch in the system after his college career ended. His 2023 wasn’t much to write home about. He went 4-6 with a 4.04 ERA, with 84 strikeouts and 28 walks in 104.2 innings. He even worked a little relief, claiming two holds and a save.

But last year everything clicked. He started the season at High-A Wilmington but was promoted to both Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester, starting 12 games at both affiliates.

His overall numbers got everyone’s attention in the organization — 10-4 with a 2.43 ERA in 25 starts, with 135 strikeouts and 49 walks in 129.2 innings. He even managed a complete-game shutout, a rarity in the minor leagues.

His numbers were tremendous at Harrisburg — 8-1 with a 1.40 ERA — but they were solid at Rochester, where he went 2-3 with a 3.93 ERA.

In spring training, his velocity has gone up, per MLB, to a consistent fastball that can hit 95 mph, from an average of 92-93 mph last year.

Everything is adding up to Lord being one of those pitchers that could help the Nationals as soon as this coming season.