Travis Sykora’s Fast Track Through Washington Nationals Organization Explained

At some point there is nothing more for a baseball prospect to prove at an affiliate. Travis Sykora has done that twice this season.

The Washington Nationals right-hander has turned the organization’s farm system into his own personal statement about his health and the readiness of his game as he earned a promotion to Double-A Harrisburg earlier this week.

That came after he had nothing left to prove at High-A Wilmington. In his last start with the Blue Rocks, he threw six innings for the first time this season, 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. He ended up with the victory, his third of the month.

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Earlier this week, Baseball America highlighted 10 pitchers whose underlying numbers impressed them in June. Sykora made the list after an impressive June in which he went 3-0 with a 1.66 ERA in four starts. He struck out 32 and walked six in 21.2 innings.

In other words, there was nothing left to prove, as Geoff Pontes wrote that he’s emerged as one of the game’s best pitching prospects.

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“Sykora mixes a mid-to-high-90s four-seam fastball that generates lots of whiffs despite only pedestrian vertical break on the pitch,” he 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.”

Sykora is the Nationals’ No. 1 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

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 10 starts this season he is 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA with 70 strikeouts and 11 walks in 40.2 innings.

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.

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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.

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.

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