Nationals' Hitters Fantasy Baseball Preview | CJ Abrams, James Wood, Dylan Crews, Luis Garcia Jr., Josh Bell and More

Let's continue our fantasy baseball team preview series with the Washington Nationals. We'll start with their hitters in this story - check back later for a writeup on the team's pitchers.

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 Hitters

There's several Nationals' hitters on the FantasySP ADP list so far.

Leading the way is CJ Abrams, who is at pick 92.5 on average so far. James Wood is just a bit behind him, going at pick 111.67.

Catcher Keibert Ruiz is on the list at pick 139. Luis Garcia Jr. (155.71) and Dylan Crews (155.92) are ultra close.

Josh Bell is also on the list at pick 165.71. Nathaniel Lowe (179.33) is another late-round option.

Abrams turned in similar numbers to his 2023 season, but did it in 13 less games. He was sent down near the end of last season as a disciplinary action.

Abrams played in 138 games, posting a .246 average and .314 on-base percentage. He had 20 home runs, 65 RBIs, 31 stolen bases and 79 runs scored.

Those are pretty well-rounded numbers, even with a bit lower average and OBP. Abrams is a sneaky good value pick for 2025, in my eyes, and I think he'll be a top-10 fantasy shortstop again. I'm fine taking him around his ADP, and think he will end up outperforming that draft slot.

Wood got a taste of the big leagues in 2024, playing in 79 games, flashing potential along the way.

He had a .264 average and .354 OBP to go along with nine home runs, 41 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and 43 runs scored. Doubling all those marks to be close to a full 162-game season leads to some pretty well-rounded fantasy totals.

As long as he stays healthy, I see Wood having a safe fantasy floor, with him having a great chance to outperform his ADP as well. Getting him as a second fantasy outfielder is maybe a touch too rich for me, but having him as the third guy is ideal to me. He should be a daily fantasy starter, and I think he's going to be a draft steal by the end of the season.

Ruiz got in 127 games a season ago, his third straight season with over 110 games,

He had a .229 average, which is 20 points lower than his career mark. Ruiz had a .260 OBP last season, which is down over 20 points from his career mark. The catcher had 13 homers, 57 RBIs, three stolen bases and 46 runs scored.

At a weak fantasy position, Ruiz is definitely a standard league option. There's some bounceback potential with him, but I think he'll be capped by his spot in the lineup. He's projected to hit seventh, which could mean plenty of RBI chances, but a lower runs scored mark.

I'm fine taking Ruiz as a backup fantasy catcher, but only if the rest of your team is set by that point of the draft. Otherwise, I'd probably skip out on Ruiz unless he fell a few rounds.

Garcia emerged as a good fantasy hitter in 2024.

In 140 games, Garcia had a .282 average and .318 OBP. He also had 18 home runs, 70 RBIs, 22 stolen bases and 58 runs scored.

He's projected to be in a platoon for the 2025 season, but he still should get enough starts to be a decent standard league asset. Using one of your final standard league picks on him is fine by me, unless you are expecting him to be your No. 1 fantasy 2B. Draft him as a secondary option, whether that be a bench guy, extra infielder/utility hitter, but nothing more.

Crews got 31 MLB games in during the 2024 season.

He struggled to a .218 average and .288 OBP, but was one of the top prospects in baseball, so not many are ready to give up on him. Crews also had three home runs, eight RBIs, 12 stolen bases and 12 runs scored last season.

Crews' speed is a major fantasy asset, and if he's able to put it together as a hitter, the sky's the limit. Taking him as a final starting outfielder or backup option is a pretty low risk and high ceiling pick.

He could end up being one of the bigger draft steals this season if he lives up to the hype he has as a top prospect.

Bell is a masher in the heart of the Nats' lineup.

In 145 games last season (104 with Washington), Bell had a .249 average and .319 OBP. He had 19 home runs, 71 RBIs, no stolen bases and 62 runs scored.

Bell is pretty overlooked going into the season, but if some of the team's young talent can get on base atop the lineup, Bell will have a chance to drive in a bunch of runs.

Taking a late-round flier on Bell is OK by me. He can be an extra fantasy infield/utility starter most days, and could work his way into daily fantasy starts at 1B in all leagues if everything comes together for this Nats' lineup.

Lowe adds a bit more thump to the heart of the Nats' lineup.

In 140 games with the Rangers in 2024, Lowe had a .265 average and .361 OBP. He hit 16 home runs, drove in 69 runs, stole two bases and scored 62 bases.

Again, drafting him that late in a fantasy draft doesn't come with much risk. If he fails to deliver in Washington, you can just drop him without it having much impact on your team. There's a decent chance he outperforms his ADP and becomes a near everyday fantasy starting option.

Other Starting Options

We've discussed most of the Washington lineup already, but let's look at some other projected hitters on FanGraphs who could be fantasy assets.

Paul DeJong and Jacob Young are the only two projected starters not on the ADP list, and they are projected to hit eighth and ninth in the lineup.

DeJong played 139 games in 2024, with 102 coming with the White Sox and 37 with the Royals. He had a .227 average and .276 OBP, but popped 24 home runs. DeJong also had 56 RBIs, two stolen bases and 54 runs scored.

If he is batting near the end of the lineup, he might be in store for similar numbers by the end of the season. Washington's lineup is much better than what the Chicago lineup was. DeJong is a deep-league option to begin the season, but could be a standard league option when he's going well at the plate.

Young got in 150 games last season and had a .256 average and .316 OBP. He hit just three homers and drove in 36 runs, but stole 33 bases and scored 75 runs.

Things might be a bit different this season, but with the Nationals' lineup being a bit better this year, I think Young could improve his numbers in several stats. Without much power or run production though, he's a deep-league option - he could be used in a pinch in standard leagues, but there's far better options out there.

Amed Rosario is the other half of the projected platoon with Garcia. Rosario can play all over the field, so if he's hitting well, he could work his way into the lineup often. He's just a deep-league option, and probably tops out at one too.

Riley Adams is the projected backup catcher, while Jose Tena and Alex Call are the other bench guys. Unless there's an injury or two to a regular starter, I don't see any of those guys being too big of fantasy assets.

Top Prospects

Crews is the No. 4 prospect in baseball heading into 2025, so you can see why his ADP is as high as it is despite some lower numbers in his debut season. Crews is the only National hitting prospect in the top 100.

Robert Hassell III, Brady House and Andrew Pinckney are some other top-30 prospects of the team from the end of last season who could maybe factor into things in 2025.

House is a third baseman who has a .274 average and .334 OBP across 278 minor league games. He also has 38 home runs, 156 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, 158 runs scored, 76 walks and 304 strikeouts to his name.

Hassell was once a top-end fantasy prospect, but after back-to-back sub .250 average seasons, he's lost some of his luster. He has a career .260 average and .350 OBP across 428 minor league games, along with 36 home runs, 215 RBIs, 88 stolen bases, 264 runs scored, 226 walks and 449 strikeouts.

Pinckney has a 2026 ETA, but a solid .273 average and .350 OBP across 178 minor league games in two years. He has 12 home runs, 70 RBIs, 38 stolen bases, 104 runs scored, 62 walks and 205 strikeouts as well.

Caleb Lomavita, Maxwell Romero Jr., Andres Chaparro, Trey Lipscomb, Cayden Wallace, Yohandy Morales, Nasim Nunez and Daylen Lile are some more players age 25 or below who are in big league camp with the team this spring.