Washington Nationals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore continues to showcase his ace potential thus far in 2025. In his start Thursday night against the Seattle Mariners, he punched out eight batters in six innings of work, allowing only four hits and no runs. He left the ball game with the Nationals up 2-0, and they proceeded to cough up the lead as soon as he left the game. They would eventually win 9-3 in extra innings, as the Nationals' offense exploded in the top of the tenth, scoring seven runs. Gore now owns an impressive 36.3 percent strikeout rate (97th percentile), 34.7 percent whiff rate (95th percentile), a 3.16 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP. Based on his 200.0 ADP, according to NFBC, Gore has been an absolute steal for fantasy managers and remains a must-start with elite strikeout upside.

The Arizona Diamondbacks recalled infielder Ildemaro Vargas from Triple-A Reno on Thursday and optioned infield prospect Jordan Lawlar to Reno in a corresponding move. Vargas opted out of his minor-league deal with the D-backs earlier this week before re-signing to a major-league contract on Thursday. The 33-year-old veteran will serve as a utility infielder for the time being for the Snakes and won't have a ton of fantasy value outside of deep NL-only leagues. The Venezuelan infielder has eight years of big-league experience with a .246/.289/.354 career slash line, 17 homers, 126 RBI and 16 steals in 420 games. Vargas hit .246 (67-for-272) with a homer, 30 RBI and a career-high nine stolen bases in 95 games last year with the Washington Nationals.

Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. had a solo home run in his team's 9-0 win on Wednesday night, giving him five long balls on the season. Garcia opened the scoring with his 404-foot blast in the second inning and finished the night 1-for-4, while later adding a walk and another run scored. The 25-year-old lefty is hitting only .234 on the year but does have a handful of home runs and 20 RBI, along with seven stolen bases. He has a .291 xBA and .475 xSLG, indicating that his quality of contact has been better than his batting average and slugging percentage indicate. Garcia can be an emergency fill-in or DFS streaming play at a thin 2B position now that he's recovered from his slow start to the season, but he isn't a must-start in standard leagues at this point.

Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood went 2-for-4 with three RBI and his 15th home run of the season on Wednesday night in his team's 9-0 rout of the Mariners in Seattle. Wood's home run was a solo shot in the fifth inning against Mariners starter George Kirby. He later walked and stole a base in the seventh inning to provide even more fantasy goodness for his managers and is up to eight stolen bases on the year. In his first full season in the majors, he's hitting .287 through 55 games and has locked in recently with a 100% hard-hit rate and 50% barrel rate over his last four games with three home runs and a .558 wOBA in that small sample size. He's a must-play in all formats with so much power potential and his solid average and speed numbers make him even more valuable.

Washington Nationals outfield prospect Robert Hassell III went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI during their victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday evening. Hassell knocked an RBI single in the fourth that scored infielder Luis Garcia Jr. Then, in the eighth, Hassell would hit his first career MLB long ball off Seattle right-hander Blas Castano. After an impressive MLB debut on May 22 when he tallied two hits and swiped a bag, Hassell went 0-for-12 over his last four contests. However, the 23-year-old enjoyed a much-needed breakout game on Wednesday. Fantasy managers should continue to expect Hassell to have an everyday role in center field with both Dylan Crews (oblique) and Jacob Young (shoulder) sidelined. Hassell is worth rostering in all deeper five-outfielder leagues given his ability to hit for power and steal bases.