Nationals Pitching Prospect Has Been on Fire Since Returning From Offseason Surgery

The most recent wave of prospects that the Washington Nationals are clearly excited about is full of positional players.

Last year, it was left fielder James Wood and right fielder Dylan Crews making their Major League debuts. Center fielder Jacob Young also cemented himself as one of the best defensive players in baseball as a rookie.

This year, two more outfielders have made their Big League debuts: Daylen Lile and Robert Hassell III. Third baseman Brady House may not be too far away from a promotion of his own to help at the hot corner.

There are some highly touted positional players remaining in the system, such as shortstop Seaver King, but the next wave is all about pitching.

The player who is garnering the most attention with his performance right now in the minor leagues on the mound is Travis Skyora.

A third-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft, he has rapidly moved his way up the prospect rankings. He is comfortably inside the top 100 at No. 62 at MLB Pipeline and is the Nationals No. 1 prospect, with good reason.

He has been lights out in 2025, making his debut on May 3 after undergoing offseason surgery on his hip.

Despite the late start, Sykora has been dealing, blowing away hitters at every level during his rehab process as he now settles in at High-A Wilmington.

That has led to Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Sam Dykstra of MLB.com highlighting Sykora as Washington’s hottest pitching prospect in May.

“Since making his first rehab start in the Florida Complex League on May 3, the 21-year-old has fanned 32 of the 51 batters he’s faced across five starts, including nine of 13 in his High-A Wilmington debut on Sunday,” they wrote.

Through 15 innings this year, Sykora has allowed only one earned run and three hits, walking four compared to 32 strikeouts.

It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to improved competition in the South Atlantic League. But if his form to this point is an indicator of what is to come, Sykora could soon be making appearances at Double-A, moving one step closer to the Major Leagues.