The Nationals’ next wave of pitching could start arriving soon.
Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana have been the headliners among Washington’s arms for a while now, but the organization added more depth this season, and MLB Pipeline is already looking ahead to 2027 for three more names: right-handers Jack Cebert and Ben Grable, plus lefty Josh Hartle.
Cebert and Grable both came over from the Yankees in the Luis García Jr. trade, and both moved quickly after joining the system. Cebert, a 2025 15th-round pick out of Texas Tech, logged his first full pro season and climbed from High-A Somerset to Triple-A Rochester.
Across 20 starts and 24 total appearances, he went 5-6 with a 4.03 ERA, striking out 10 batters per nine innings while posting a 3.5 BB/9 over 109 1/3 innings. With Rochester, he went 1-2 with a 4.86 ERA in three starts, five games overall, and also threw two scoreless innings as the starter in the Triple-A National Championship series.
MLB Pipeline gave Cebert these scouting grades: Fastball: 50, Curveball: 50, Slider: 55, Cutter: 50, Control: 50, Overall: 45.
Grable, a 2025 11th-round pick out of Indiana University, also didn’t get into pro ball until this year and followed the same High-A-to-Triple-A path. He worked exclusively out of the bullpen, making 48 relief appearances and finishing 3-1 with a 3.04 ERA and four saves.
His strikeout rate was loud - 13.6 K/9 - while his walk rate sat at 3.6 BB/9 across all levels. In nine appearances with Rochester, he had an 8.10 ERA in 6 2/3 innings, then finished with a scoreless inning in the Triple-A National Championship series.
Hartle arrived from the Guardians in the Foster Griffin deal after building a reputation for one of the Minors’ best ground-ball rates. The 2024 third-round pick of the Pirates also brings a familiar connection for Nationals fans: he was teammates with Nats No. 3 prospect Seaver King at Wake Forest.
Unlike the two Yankees acquisitions, Hartle spent the whole year at Double-A with both organizations. He went 5-5 with a 3.45 ERA in 24 starts, appearing in 25 games total. Over 122 2/3 innings, he posted an 8.4 K/9 rate and a 3.6 BB/9 rate.
In Other News...
Nationals Rebuild Looks Smarter After These Low-Cost Bets Paid Off
For a Nationals club still working through a patient rebuild, the 2026 season offered a few reminders that not every useful move has to come with a big price tag. Washington did not make the playoffs, but it found value in a series of low-cost roster bets that fit the larger plan of adding young talent while keeping the payroll lean. Foster Griffin gave the team a useful stretch before becoming a trade chip, Curtis Mead arrived in a trade and provided steady help, and Joey Wiemer was brought in on waivers as another inexpensive flyer.
What makes those moves stand out is how each one created a different kind of return for a roster in transition. Griffin was eventually moved for multiple prospects, Mead was flipped for a young starter, and Wiemer flashed enough early to justify the decision to take a look in the first place. None of it changes the fact that the Nationals are still climbing back, but it does suggest the front office is finding ways to squeeze real value out of short-term bets while the bigger picture keeps taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Got Pulled Into A Washington Sports Snub Fans Will Notice
The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., put together a high-profile panel this week called "Inside the Owners Box," and the setup was as local as it gets: four major Washington sports franchise owners on stage talking business, teams and the state of the market. One owner was conspicuously absent from the invitation list, though, and it was the Lerner family, the principal owner of the Nationals, a detail fans around town are likely to notice.
The event was chaired by David Rubenstein, who owns the Orioles and once tried to buy the Nationals, adding another layer to a scene already thick with regional sports politics. Rubenstein has also drawn criticism lately over layoffs in Baltimore, and at the panel he acknowledged the strain that comes with the Orioles' performance. For a Nationals fan base still measuring where the franchise fits in the citys broader sports picture, being left out of a Washington owner spotlight only sharpened the point. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Found A New Way To Pressure Teams In 2026
The Nationals spent 2026 making life harder on opposing batteries and infields, and the improvement showed up in a category that often gets overlooked until it starts changing games. Washington finished with 178 stolen bases and an 81.7% success rate, a clear jump from the previous season, and the gains went beyond raw volume. Advanced baserunning metrics reflected a club that was not just running more, but running better, with contributions spread across the roster and a coaching staff putting real emphasis on technique.
There was still some tradeoff in the form of more non-steal outs, which comes with the territory when a team gets more aggressive. Even so, the bigger picture points to a Nationals group that found a more consistent way to pressure pitchers, catchers and defenses into quicker decisions. For a team trying to keep stealing free bases in the modern game, it was a meaningful step forward and one that could keep paying off if the same approach holds. [Read more 🡒]