Saturday, March 28

Welcome to the latest edition of the Nationals Beat newsletter. This is your stop for the latest on and off the field, from news to exclusive player interviews and insights, brought to you by MLB.com club reporter Jessica Camerato.

During Spring Training, the Nationals will have the opportunity to get up-close looks at players from within their farm system facing big league-level competition. This week, the Nats named 10 Minor League players from within their organization as non-roster invitees for Major League camp, including six Top 30 prospects. 

Pitchers: LHP Shinnosuke Ogasawara, RHP Jarlin Susana (No. 4, MLB No. 87), RHP Travis Sykora (No. 3, MLB No. 49)

Ogasawara, 28, signed a two-year deal with the Nationals last year and made his Major League debut on July 6, 2025. He went 0-1 with a 9.45 ERA in two starts and 1-0 with a 6.47 ERA in 21 relief appearances with the Nationals. 

Susana (right lat muscle) and Sykora (Tommy John surgery) are recovering from injuries. Susana, 21, advanced to Double-A Harrisburg last season, and he went 1-4 with a 3.51 ERA and 15.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 14 starts between Harrisburg and High-A Wilmington.

Sykora, 21, also advanced to Double-A in 2025. In 12 starts over four levels, he was 3-1 with a 1.79 ERA and 15.7 K/9.

Catcher: Caleb Lomavita (No. 15)

Lomavita, 23, spent most of last year -- his first in pro ball -- at the High-A level. He advanced to Double-A for the final nine games of the season. Across both levels, Lomavita hit .275 with a .714 OPS. He had a .973 fielding percentage behind the plate and a 25 percent caught-stealing rate.

Infielders: Seaver King (No. 10), Trey Lipscomb, Yohandy Morales (No. 26), Cayden Wallace

Lipscomb, Morales and Wallace return to Major League camp, while King earned his first invite. 

King, 22, ranked in the top five in the Nats' organization in triples (five), hits (123), runs (65) and stolen bases (30). On the basepaths, he tallied an 88.2 stolen-base percentage and was named the Nats' 2025 Minor League Baserunner of the Year. After advancing to Double-A last season, King batted .359 with a 1.031 OPS in the Arizona Fall League. 

Lipscomb will join the Nationals in Spring Training for the fourth year in a row. The versatile 25-year-old infielder has played 64 games at the Major League level. In 122 games with Triple-A Rochester last season, Lipscomb batted .249 with 29 doubles, 11 home runs and 12 stolen bases. 

Morales, 24, was promoted from Double-A to Triple-A last season, hitting a combined .265 with 31 doubles, four triples and 15 home runs in 128 games. Morales led the Nats' farm system in doubles and runs scored (85). 

Wallace, 24, played all of last season in Double-A after participating in Major League camp. Wallace had a .972 fielding percentage at third base, where he logged most of his innings, and he batted .242 with 21 doubles, three triples and 10 homers.

Outfielders: Phillip Glasser, Andrew Pinckney (No. 30) 

Both outfielders were recipients of Nationals Minor League Awards last season. Glasser was named Hitter of the Year, and Pinckney was the recipient of the Nationals Way Award.

The lefty-batting Glasser led the Nationals' farm system with a .302 batting average and a .389 on-base percentage. His 143 hits were the most by a Washington Minor League player since 2022 (Andrew Stevenson, 152). Glasser, 26, also ranked second in the Nats’ farm system in OPS (.793) and walks (60).

Pinckney impressed during Spring Training 2025, and he spent all of last season honing his skills in Triple-A. Pinckney, 25, slashed .269/.348/.431. He ranked second in the Nats' system in home runs (20), on-base percentage, slugging percentage and stolen bases (34). Pinckney led all Nationals Minor League outfielders in putouts (271) and tied for fourth in outfield assists (seventh). 

• MLB Network selected James Wood as the No. 5 left fielder in the game. In this week’s MLB Morning Lineup Podcast, I looked at Wood’s rapid rise of 45 spots in MLB Network’s Top 100 Players Right Now list.

• MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince named center fielder Jacob Young to his 2026 All-Underrated Team.

• MLB Pipeline evaluated Susana as having the best slider in the Minor Leagues. (Sykora was in the running for best other pitch with his splitter.)

• MLB.com’s Thomas Harrigan highlighted outfielder Daylen Lile’s 1.212 OPS in Sept./Oct. last season as one of the most (and extreme) small-sample-size success stories to watch. 

When the Nationals traded MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers last week in exchange for five Top 30 prospects, did that mark another rebuild -- or the continuation of the one that began in 2022 with the blockbuster Juan Soto trade? I explored that question in this article. 

• Wednesday, Feb. 11: First pitchers and catchers workout

• Monday, Feb. 16: First full-squad workout

• Saturday, Feb. 21: First Grapefruit League games (split squad vs. Astros, at Cardinals)

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