Almost a month into his pro career, Chris Hacopian is already showing the same appeal that made him Paul Toboni’s first draft pick. The Maryland and Texas A&M slugger went 11th overall because of a mix that’s hard to find: real hitting ability, strong plate discipline and raw power.
The early returns at High-A have been steady rather than explosive. Through his first 13 games, Hacopian is hitting .275 with a .396 OBP and a .746 OPS, which is respectable work in a tough Wilmington hitting environment. He’s holding his own, but he hasn’t taken over yet.
The underlying numbers, though, are loud. Baseball America’s look at the top 30 picks from the 2026 draft noted that Hacopian posted the highest 90th percentile exit velocity at 106 MPH and the lowest in zone swing and miss rate at 9.8%. That combination of hard contact and contact skill is exactly why he drew so much attention.
The one thing keeping that raw power from showing up more often in games is his batted-ball shape. Hacopian hits plenty of ground balls and low line drives, and he almost never pulls the ball, especially in the air. A massive 87.6% of his batted balls have gone up the middle or to the other side, while his ground ball rate sits at 48.4%.
That’s the area that has to change if the exit velocities are going to turn into real home run production. It isn’t a shocking issue, either.
That batted-ball profile was always viewed as the weak spot in an otherwise very strong offensive package. This offseason should be a major focus, and the Nats’ new regime has already shown it can help hitters elevate and pull more often.
Luis Garcia Jr., Jacob Young and even Dylan Crews have all seen major drops in their ground ball rates. On the minor league side, Seaver King has also shown more lift. That’s why there’s reason to think Hacopian could make progress in that same area next season.
When he does get the ball in the air and to his pull side, the damage is obvious. His first professional homer was a no-doubt blast to left field, the kind of swing that makes you stop and watch. When Hacopian turns on one, there’s little mystery about what just happened.
The rest of the profile still looks very strong. He’s disciplined, he rarely whiffs and he puts together quality at-bats.
In his first taste of pro ball, he’s chasing only 22.7% of the time. In 40 AB’s, he has 8 strikeouts and 8 walks.
That’s why the offensive ceiling remains so interesting. While many viewed him as more of a floor-over-ceiling pick, there’s a path where he hits around .300 and adds 25 homers.
That would be All-Star level production. The catch is that so much of the value has to come from the bat, because the defense and athleticism don’t leave much margin for error.
For now, Hacopian looks like what he was in college: a pure hitter who controls the zone, makes a ton of contact and hits the ball hard. The ingredients are all there. The next step is refining the batted-ball profile so the production matches the tools.
That’s what makes him such an intriguing follow heading into next season. If he starts lifting and pulling more, he could move fast. An early 2028 or even late 2027 call up is not totally out of the picture.
The numbers may not jump off the page yet, but the reasons the Nationals drafted Chris Hacopian are already easy to see.
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