Top Nationals Prospect Blasts Up MLB Pipeline Top 100 Rankings

For the Washington Nationals, a once promising season has turned into a disappointment, as the young, upstart group that was threatening for a wild card spot in early June has faded into last place in the National League East.

That means Nationals fans can turn their gaze to the future, which is especially bright considering the team is set to pick first overall in the upcoming MLB draft and has several high-ceiling prospects moving through their pipeline.

That includes talented pitcher Travis Sykora, the team's third-round pick in the 2023 MLB draft out of Round Rock High in Texas.

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Sykora recently earned a promotion to Double-A Harrisburg after dominating with High-A Wilmington. While in Delaware with the Blue Rocks, Sykora posted a 1.21 ERA with an astonishing 47 batters in 29.2 innings of work.

That caught the attention of the decision makers at MLB Pipeline, which released the latest update to its top 100 prospect rankings list on Tuesday night.

Sykora jumped 24 spots from No. 54 all the way up to No. 30, making him the fourth-largest riser among all players who cracked both iterations of the list.

"Sykora underwent offseason hip surgery, and his fastball velocity is up a few ticks as he’s regained some flexibility in his lower half," Sam Dykstra wrote in justifying the ranking. "Throw in a quality slider and splitter, and the Nationals right-hander has struck out 76 of his 164 batters faced (46.3 percent) across four levels this season."

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Evaluators from all over the league have been blown away by Sykora's combination of tools and productivity, as harnessing talent into positive results is not always a given for top pitching prospects.

"Sykora mixes a mid-to-high-90s four-seam fastball that generates lots of whiffs despite only pedestrian vertical break on the pitch,” Geoff Pontes of Baseball America wrote. “His mid-80s slider and splitter give him two secondaries moving in opposite directions, with the splitter projecting to be the better of the two pitches.”

All of these factors go into making Sykora the clear-cut No. 1 prospect in Washington's organization, but he's not the only one to watch.

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The team's top five is now rounded out by pitcher Jarlin Susana, infielder Brady House, shortstop Seaver King and left-handed pitcher Alex Clemmey.

House is the only one of that group to make his presence felt in the Major Leagues so far, as he made his MLB debut on June 16.

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