Nationals Continue To Lose Front Office Members Amid Regime Change

Ciolek joined the Nationals after the 2023 season, coming from the Baltimore Orioles. He began his career in Baltimore as a player development intern in 2011 and then returned in 2013 as a scouting administrator, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com.

The scout held many roles with the Orioles over the years, including Assistant Director of Scouting, Supervisor of Domestice Scouting Operations and finally Director of Draft Operations in November 2021.

It was an exciting hire for Washington because Ciolek had been a member of the front offices that drafted players such as Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman and more.

He was named the first Senior Director of Amateur Scouting in Washington's organization according to Kubatko.

"Many fans viewed the fresh faced Ciolek as a modernizer who could help Mike Rizzo nail the draft," Sam Sallick of Federal Baseball wrote.

Ciolek was only in charge for two drafts, as it turned out. The 2024 class has struggled some. Top pick Seaver King had a .631 OPS in 125 Double-A games at 22-years-old this season. He hit six home runs and stole 30 bases.

So far the highest ranked pick from that class is second rounder Luke Dickerson, who is the Nationals number four prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. At 20-years-old, the infielder hit .208 with a .641 OPS in 89 games between Rookie Ball and Single-A.

The 2025 class is already looking better. Eli Willits, the first overall pick, has a 60-grade hit and run tool and is the 18th prospect in all of baseball. Three other 2025 picks, Landon Harmon, Ethan Petry and Coy James are already in the top 10.

The 2025 class could have a huge impact on Washington's future and could be Ciolek's short legacy with the team.

He heads to the Detroit Tigers, though there is no confirmation on what role he took.

His former Orioles co-worker Danny Haas, who came along with Ciolek and was the Scouting Director, also left to re-join Baltimore.

Given the amount of work that Ciolek did in his short amount of time in the draft, his departure could wind up being a big loss for whoever takes over. He is well-regarded around the game it seems, and with the tension around the front office, he was able to secure a job elsewhere.

Now the Nationals lose another asset as they start over from scratch.