Yesterday afternoon, Prospects Live, a site dedicated to the minor leagues, MLB Draft and dynasty fantasy baseball rankings, published their prediction for what the Nationals roster would look like in the year 2028. I wanted to break down some of their choices because while I agree with many of their decisions, there are just as many that leave me scratching my head. Keep in mind that they are trying to predict the roster over three seasons with zero outside additions, a futile task as there will undoubtedly be free agency and trade additions, but there are still certain parts of the roster that are much more likely to go to an internal option than others.
Projecting Keibert Ruiz as the Nationals’ starting catcher in 2028 is a questionable call at best after the recent acquisition of Harry Ford. While it is true that Ruiz is still under contract that season, meaning he will likely still be with the organization in some capacity, he has shown very little to lead anyone to believe he can hold down the starting catcher role for another three years, especially with Harry Ford ready for the big leagues in 2026. The most logical explanation to me is that they made their projections and the graphics before the trade fell through and forgot to update, or maybe Prospects Live still believes in a version of Keibert Ruiz that we haven’t seen in many cases. year.
I like the pick of Ethan Petry over Yohandy Morales and Andres Chapparo at first base in 2028 because my future prospects for him are higher than those two and all the other internal first base options in the organization. This seems like a position where a free agent signing or trade acquisition will likely happen, whether that’s this offseason or in a future season, but for the sake of this exercise, I like Petry as the Nats’ future first baseman.
I also like the choice of Luke Dickerson at second base over Seaver King, who is closer to the major leagues but doesn’t excite me the way Dickerson does with his great speed and power potential. I believe King could have a strong career as a utility man for the Nationals, filling in at a variety of spots on the diamond to begin with, but it’s hard for me to put him in any one spot above anyone else on this roster. The absence of Luis Garcia Jr. is notable considering he’ll be a free agent after the 2027 season, and Prospects Live doesn’t think he’ll be back in DC or just leaves impending free agents alone as a rule.
Willits at shortstop was probably one of the easier choices on the list for them, as the only question I would come up with would be whether they believe he can reach the big league level at age 20. If they didn’t, King would likely be in his place in this image, but Willits would almost certainly be knocking on the door in 2029, in his age-21 season.
The choice of Daylen Lile and Dylan Crews in the outfield corners was probably simple enough for the folks at Prospects Live, but the choice of CJ Abrams in centerfield in his age-28 season is an interesting one. While Abrams is probably fast enough to handle centerfield duties now, he has also fallen in the sprint speed percentile every year since he reached the big leagues, and I don’t expect that to stop as he gets older.
Abrams’ arm is already frilly at shortstop, too, and would be one of the weaker centerfield arms in baseball if he were to make the move. While I think it’s an idea worth exploring, it seems much more likely to me that Abrams makes the move to second base rather than centerfield as he gets older. For some reason the picture doesn’t include James Wood, who they say will play DH for the Nationals in 2028, though I don’t think they should be so quick to consider him as a fielder.
In the rotation, Prospects Live sees Cade Cavalli as the ace of this baseball club in 3 years, with youngsters Travis Sykora, Jarlin Susana and Alex Clemmey right behind him. The decision to put Brad Lord over Luis Perales is fascinating and perhaps confirms my suspicion that these projections and charts were made before the Ford/Perales trade went bust. There’s also the surprising absence of DJ Herz, who will be just 27 years old during the 2028 campaign and has shown more promise at the big league level than virtually any Nats starter. Overall, I think they’re mostly on the money with the top 4 of this rotation, with the question marks being whether Cavalli and Clemmey can hold their own as starters or become bullpen weapons.
According to Prospects Live, the Nationals’ bullpen prospects in 2028 are extremely bleak; However, that is also the area of the club that is hardest to predict, as bullpens are constantly shuffling through the arms and will currently see the addition of several failed starters to the Nats farm. Cole Henry as a closer makes sense since there’s a better chance he’ll still be around in three years, but I’m not sure he really has any closer stuff.
Pablo Aldonis is a 23-year-old southpaw who destroyed Low and High A hitters in 2025, and seems as good a bet on the Nats farm as anyone who will be in their bullpen in three years. Poulin, who will be 32 in 2028 and was solid for the Nats in 2025, is an odd choice as a setup guy, but he still has plenty of service time left, giving him a decent chance to still be around by then.
Overall, I think Prospects Live’s prediction for the 2028 Washington Nationals roster would be much more accurate if they had updated it with the additions of Harry Ford and Luis Perales, but overall they did about as well as guessing what a team will look like in three years without outside additions. As far as three-year prospects go, I think this is the brightest future the Nationals have had since the rebuild began, with a mix of current big league talent, young and promising hitters, and intriguing weapons on the farm.
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