Nationals Prospects Who Could Contribute in 2026

After being freed from a situation in Seattle where he’d permanently be the second-best catcher, Ford now finds himself in the perfect situation to win a starting job from day one in Washington.  

Ford made his MLB debut last season with the Mariners, but it was one of the smallest sample sizes. After registering only eight plate appearances, collecting just one hit, the young backstop will look to prove that he can live up to the lofty expectations that he’s always had. Lucky for him, he can cast aside the eight big league opportunities and look to build upon the best minor league season of his career.  

Across 97 games in Triple-A, Ford hit .283/.408/.460 with an .868 OPS. 

Keibert Ruiz is currently projected to be the Opening Day starter for the Nats. The six-year vet, despite signing an eight-year, $50 million extension back in 2023, has not lived up to the expectations that were sky-high dating back to his days as a prospect in the Dodgers system. While he is only entering year four of the extension, there is a new regime in place. The “sunk cost fallacy” notion surely went out the door when the last regime was booted through it.  

Ford should have every opportunity to overtake that job from day one, come the end of spring training, making Ruiz nothing more than an overpaid backup.  

Andry Lara – RHP

Andry Lara is another player who made his debut in 2025, but is looking to erase the results from the history books and rewrite what his future will look like.  

In nine appearances out of the bullpen for the Nationals, Lara pitched to an 8.79 ERA across 14.1 innings. The start to his career, however, was not like the rest. In his debut against the Tigers on July 2, Lara pitched three scoreless innings, striking out four, en route to a four-game stretch where he put up a 1.35 ERA in the subsequent three outings that followed.  

While the overall numbers for Lara do not stand out much, it’s the durability he provides that will bode well for his ball club as they look for arms to eat innings and prove themselves worthy of being a part of the next iteration of winning Nationals baseball.  

What the 23-year-old right-hander does have going for him is that he does a great job at limiting the longball and has done so since he made his professional debut back in 2021.  

Andrew Pinckney – OF

Andrew Pinckney is coming off a historic Triple-A season for the Rochester Red Wings.  

In 125 games played, he hit .269/.348/.431 with a .779 OPS, 20 home runs, 66 RBIs, and 34 stolen bases. He became the first player in the history of the Triple-A affiliate to post a 20-home run and 30-stolen base season. It was the first time something like this had been done since 1971, when Don Baylor accomplished a 20-20 season. 

Amongst his organizational mates in the system, Pinckney ranked in the top-10 of all MiLB players in home runs, OBP, slugging, stolen bases, OPS, runs scored, RBI, batting average, hits, XBH, walks, and total bases. So not only was he essentially one of the best in each of the offensive categories in the system, but he ranked in the top spot amongst outfielders in putouts and fourth in outfield assists.  

To tie a bow on it all, he was also named the 2025 “Washington Nationals Way” Minor League Award, which is given to the player in the system who embodies overall leadership and outstanding performance.  

Between the outfield trio of Wood, Lile, and Jacob Young, playing time may not be there from the beginning, but I would be remiss if I failed to recognize the impact that Pinckney will have at some point in the 2026 season.  

Christian Franklin – OF

Christian Franklin is an impressive story considering the severity of injury he sustained when he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee in his first spring training appearance back in 2022. 

The 2021 fourth-round pick seemed to pick up right where he left off right after he returned from his injury in 2023, putting up a 133 wRC+ in 99 games played between Single-, High-, and Double-A in the Chicago Cubs system. After two more seasons of productive baseball, and going unclaimed in the Rule 5 Draft in 2024, the Nationals acquired him in the package they received from the Cubs for Michael Soroka at last year’s deadline. 

Franklin has carried over his success from his days at Arkansas, where he was deemed the most productive hitter on a team that ranked No. 1 in the country for all of the 2021 season. Despite the swing-and-miss concerns that caused him to last until the fourth round of the draft, Franklin has produced consistent strikeout-to-walk numbers (21K%-15BB%) throughout his minor league career.  

Given the state of the Nationals’ roster, even with the outfield being one of the only solidified groups of the team, Franklin could get enough looks by the organization to warrant a big league opportunity in 2026. 

Riley Cornelio – RHP

2025 was nothing but an uphill ride for Riley Cornelio. After beginning the year in High-A, Cornelio ended in Triple-A Rochester to close out one of the more under-the-radar seasons for a pitcher in all of the minor leagues.  

The 25-year-old took home the Nationals Minor League Pitcher of the Year award after leading all of the team’s pitching prospects in ERA, opponents’ batting average, and starts. He also came in second in innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP.  

The craziest part is that it was only his third professional season of his career. The 2022 seventh-round pick is going to get a chance to earn a spot in the rotation for the Nats from the day he shows up at spring training with the big league team. If he continues to showcase the maturity he has carried with him since he was drafted, I have no doubts he will solidify himself as one of the five to fill those slots for Butera.