ESPN preidcts a pair of Washington Nationals stars all be able to address key weaknesses during the 2026 season
The Washington Nationals will return to action on Sunday afternoon to take on the Houston Astros for the fifth of six meetings between the two teams this spring. First pitch is set for 1:05 PM with Andrew Alvarez set to take the mound for his third start in spring where he'll look to post a cleaner start compared to his first two. But with Opening Day also inching closer, the Nationals drew a handful oof bold predictions ahead of a season expected to feature development of the young core under first year manager Blake Butera.
ESPN predicted that star shortstop CJ Abrams will be able to deliver on the power that fans have looked for with a team-leading 26 home runs in 2026. It'd be an impressive feat given his 20 during the 2024 season marked a career high, but he's also coming off a season where he improved virtually every offensive category. Adding the power has been a sore spot for Abrams over his career, making the prediction a bold one - and potentially more enticing on the trade market.
But Abrams wasn't projected to lead by much with James Wood projected to add another 25 home runs while cutting down on his strikeout rate after finishing just shy of a MLB record with 221 strikeouts in 2025, doing so on nearly 37% of his at-bats. That's been the biggest question mark for Wood with already five strikeouts in 17 at bats and seven games in spring training, though other analysts were bullish on his power after he was one of two Nationals to be ranked in ESPN's top 100 players ahead of the 2026 season, leading the way at 44th overall.
Harry Ford was also ESPN's pick to be named the Nationals' starting catcher on Opening Day, while also listing his odds to win NL Rookie of the Year at 75-1, noting the chance to play now that he's not behind Cal Raleigh.
"The opportunity is there for him in Washington. These odds are long -- and perhaps too low. Ford produced an .878 OPS at Triple-A Tacoma, with 16 home runs in 97 games. It may be a rough season for the Nationals, but Ford has a chance to shine," Eric Karabell of ESPN wrote.
ESPN also projected Ford reaches 16 stolen bases and hits .275 in his first season, but the predictions weren't all bullish after predicting that the starting pitching staff will not post a double digit win season despite the addition of veteran Miles Mikolas alongside Cade Cavalli anchoring the rotation.
ESPN did point to Clayton Beeter as one who will reach 16 saves in 2026. The 27 year old allowed a pair of runs and hits while also striking out two batters in his spring training debut against his former team, the Yankees, back on Feb. 25 in what proved to be the first loss of the month. He followed it up with a cleaner outing in his second appearance with a 19 pitch inning with one walk against the Marlins on March 1. Beeter was one who drew praise from president of baseball operations Paul Toboni where he and Cole Henry have been viewed as the primary candidates to take over the vacancy left by the Jose Ferrer trade back on Christmas Eve.