Nationals Red-Hot Pitching Prospect Shines Again at Wilmington

Washington Nationals top pitching prospect Travis Sykora reached a new milestone in his start on Tuesday for High-A Wilmington.

The right-hander, ranked as the franchise’s No. 1 prospect by MLB Pipeline, along with the No. 55 prospect in all of baseball, threw six innings for the first time this season as the Blue Rocks faced the Hudson Valley Renegades.

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Once again, the 21-year-old was on top of things. He gave up two hits and no runs, along with two walks. He struck out seven and trimmed his ERA to 1.21 before he left the game.

Sykora has been on fire since he resumed pitching in May after he needed extended spring training to recover from hip labrum surgery last offseason.

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He started on a rehab assignment with the Florida Complex League Nationals, followed by a quick promotion to Class-A Fredericksburg and then a promotion to Wilmington, his first time higher than Class A.

In nine starts entering Tuesday’s game, he was 2-0 with a 1.30 ERA in nine games, with 62 strikeouts and nine walks in 34.2 innings.

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In his first five games with Wilmington, he allowed just 10 hits and four earned runs in 23.2 innings, while he struck out 39 and walked six.

Sykora was the Nats’ third-round pick in 2023 out of Round Rock, Texas. Washington convinced the prep star to pass on his college commitment and join the organization.

He didn’t pitch in 2023, but last season he went 5-3 with a 2.33 ERA in 20 starts with Class-A Fredericksburg. What he showed was an elite strikeout-to-walk rate, as he fanned 129 and walked 27 in 85 innings.

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It caught the attention of talent evaluators and helped him move into the Top 100 late last season. He was also named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year.

The 21-year-old probably needs a couple of more years before he can help the Nationals at the Major League level. He still has two rungs of the minor league ladder to climb to get into position. That’s why MLB Pipeline has him as a 2027 MLB arrival, one year behind Susana.

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