Nationals' Pitchers Fantasy Baseball Preview | MacKenzie Gore, Kyle Finnegan, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, Trevor Williams and More

Let's wrap up our team preview on the Washington Nationals by looking at the team's pitching. We covered hitters in another story.

We've covered the Orioles (hitters and pitchers), Reds (hitters and pitchers), Red Sox (hitters and pitchers), Mets (hitters and pitchers), Twins (hitters and pitchers), Giants (hitters and pitchers), Athletics (hitters and pitchers), Pirates (hitters and pitchers), Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Rays (hitters and pitchers), Braves (hitters and pitchers) and White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

Check out Fantasy Baseball Average Draft Position data for 2025 and get ready for your fantasy drafts by utilizing the FantasySP Fantasy Baseball Mock Draft Simulator. Also be sure to check out the FantasySP 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit!

Top Fantasy Pitchers

Only two Washington pitchers appear on the FantasySP ADP list right now, and they are both going late in drafts. Closer Kyle Finnegan and MacKenzie Gore are the Nationals' pitchers we'll cover in this first section.

Finngen was just re-signed to lead the Nationals' bullpen. I expect his ADP to rise now that his team for 2025 is known.

Finnegan has been great for the Nationals over five MLB seasons, with a career 3.56 earned run average across 291 games and 290 1/3 innings. In 65 appearances in 2024, Finnegan had a 3-8 record, but a 3.68 ERA and 38 saves. He also struck out 60 batters over 63 2/3 innings.

He was a top-20 fantasy reliever in points leagues in 2024. It's fair to expect a similar ERA, along with innings and strikeouts, but it might be tough for Finnegan to save that many games again.

I'm fine taking Finnegan as a second fantasy closer for my team. Getting him around pick 125 seems pretty fair to me, and the deeper into fantasy drafts you can get him, the more value I think you gain.

Gore has improved steadily over his three-year MLB career.

In 32 starts a season ago, Gore had a 10-12 record and 3.90 ERA. He struck out 181 batters over 166 1/3 innings.

It's fair to expect Gore to cover more innings in 2025, even though he won't be able to start more games. More innings should mean more strikeouts. Gore's fantasy value will come down to his ERA.

Seeing where it was last season, I like taking a gamble on Gore late in fantasy drafts. I think he's a keeper in all leagues to start the year. If his ERA regresses, then he might just be a streaming option.

I think Gore is being overlooked this season. Take a gamble on him and he might become one of your biggest draft steals by the end of the season.

Other Starting Options

Gore is the team's projected No. 1 starter for 2025, according to FanGraphs.

Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, Trevor Williams and Michael Soroka are the other projected starting pitchers. Jorge Lopez and Derek Law are the projected setup men for Finnegan, while Jose A. Ferrer, Lucas Sims, Colin Poche and Evan Reifert are other bullpen arms. Shinnosuke Ogasawara is the projected long reliever.

Josiah Gray is already on the 60-day injured list, but the starting pitcher could be back for the second half of the season. Mason Thompson is also on the 60-day IL, making him eligible to return in late May or early June.

Irvin was the team's top fantasy scorer in points leagues last season.

In 33 starts, Irvin went 10-14 with a 4.41 ERA. He had 156 punchouts over 187 2/3 innings.

If Irvin is able to eat that many innings again, he's a standard league streaming option all season, especially in favorable matchups. The lower strikeout totals are what make him a deep-league keeper only.

Parker was pretty solid in his rookie season across 29 starts.

He went 7-10 with a 4.29 ERA. Parker had 133 strikeouts over 151 innings.

Parker was a deep-league option last season and begins this season in the same boat. He's got standard league streaming potential though, and if he lowers his ERA or ups his strikeouts, he could be a keeper in those leagues.

Williams was great in 2024, but he only got in 13 starts.

He went 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA in those starts. He has a career 4.03 ERA, so I'm expecting some big regression in that stat for 2025. Williams struck out 59 batters over his 66 2/3 innings.

Williams is another deep-league option to begin the season, but could be a streamer, or keeper, in standard leagues if he picks up where he left off in 2024.

Soroka pitched for the White Sox in 2024, posting some wild numbers.

He had a 4.74 ERA, but went 0-10 across his 25 games and nine starts. Soroka had 84 punchouts over 79 2/3 innings.

Soroka is another deep-league option, but probably won't ever become a standard league asset in 2025. I think his innings will be capped coming after not having reached 100 innings since 2019. 

Gray will be another deep-league option with standard league streaming potential when he returns to the hill.

Ogasawara could be a potential replacement for one of the starters if there's an injury or struggles, so he's a name to keep tabs on. 

Law was a pretty good fantasy asset a season ago if you wanted to take a gamble on one of the team's non-closer relievers in a deep fantasy league.

Top Prospects

Travis Sykora (No. 70) and Jarlin Susana (No. 79) are both inside the top-100 prospects on MLB.com. Sykora has a 2027 ETA, while Susana's is 2026, so I'm not going to go into much detail about either guy.

Sykora was good in his first 85 minor league innings in 2024, posting a 2.33 ERA. Susana has a 4.17 ERA in 211 2/3 minor league innings across three years.

Cade Cavalli, Andry Lara, Zach Brzykcy, Reifert, Orlando Ribalta, Tyler Stuart and Brad Lord are some other top-30 prospects of the team from the end of last season who could maybe factor in this coming season.

Cavalli made an MLB start in 2022, but only has logged 8 1/3 minor league innings since. He's trying to lock down a spot in the MLB rotation this spring, but is projected to land in Triple-A. He could be one of the team's first call ups.

Lara has a 4.40 ERA across 382 2/3 minor league innings. He has 355 strikeouts, 143 walks and a .239 average against him as well.

Stuart has a 3.31 ERA across 236 2/3 minor league innings. He has 254 strikeouts, just 72 walks and a .238 average against him.

Brzykcy covered 5 2/3 MLB innings across six games in 2024. He had a 14.29 ERA and four strikeouts. In 159 minor league innings, he has a much better 3.17 ERA, along with 224 strikeouts, 68 walks and a .185 average against him.

Reifert has a 3.01 ERA across 146 1/3 minor league innings so far. He also has 242 punchouts, 87 walks and a .165 average against him.

Ribalta pitched 3 1/3 MLB innings across four appearances in 2024. He had a 13.5 ERA and three strikeouts. In 173 1/3 minor league innings, Ribalta has a 3.38 ERA, 203 strikeouts, 95 walks and a .212 average against him.

Lord has a 3.15 ERA across 234 1/3 minor league frames. He also has 219 strikeouts, 77 walks and a .245 average against him.

DJ Herz pitched 88 2/3 MLB innings in 2024, so he doesn't qualify as a prospect anymore. He had a 4.16 ERA and 106 punchouts and is in contention for a rotation spot to begin the regular season. 

Jackson Rutledge, Cole Henry, Jack Sinclair and Marquis Grissom Jr. are more pitchers age 25 or below who are in big league camp with the Nats this spring.