These future Nationals stars tore up the Minors in 2025

WASHINGTON -- The Nationals held a pregame ceremony on Friday to recognize five prospects as the winners of the 2025 Minor League Players of the Year at Nationals Park.

The recipients -- selected by interim general manager Mike DeBartolo and assistant GM, player development and administration Eddie Longosz -- also participated in a press conference and a pregame autograph session prior to the Nats’ 10-9 loss to the White Sox.

Three members of last year’s Minor League Awards class -- Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile and Brad Lord -- were key contributors to the Nationals this season.

Hitter of the Year: INF/OF Phillip Glasser
Age: 25
Levels played in 2025: Double-A, Triple-A
How acquired: 2023 Draft, 10th round

Glasser ranked first in the Nats' farm system with a .302 batting average, a .389 on-base percentage and 143 hits. He collected the most hits by a Washington Minor Leaguer since Andrew Stevenson in 2022 (152).

Glasser placed in the organization’s top 10 in OPS (.793, second), walks (60, second), stolen bases (32, tied for third), runs (71, fourth), total bases (191, fifth), slugging percentage (.404, fifth) and triples (4, tied for sixth).

“Obviously, the numbers have been pretty similar throughout every level,” Glasser said. “I’m just trying to control my at-bats, [be] a guy who gets on base, can run into some balls.”

Pitcher of the Year: RHP Riley Cornelio
Age: 25
Levels played in 2025: High-A, Double-A, Triple-A
How acquired: 2022 Draft, seventh round

Cornelio climbed through three levels of the Minor Leagues in one season, similar to right-hander Lord last year.

He went 6-7 while leading Nationals Minor Leaguers in ERA (3.28), opponents’ batting average. (.205) and starts (26). His 135 strikeouts, 134 1/3 innings and 1.15 WHIP ranked second.

When Cornelio was asked if he thought at the beginning of the season that he would have ended the year in Triple-A, he replied, “Coming into Spring Training, I felt like I knew mentally where I wanted to be at to be successful. I think that gaining that confidence was important as well. For me, a lot of this year was mentality as well as some of the physical changes. So yes and no, surprising and not so surprising.”

Defensive Player of the Year: OF Cristhian Vaquero (Nats' No. 25 prospect)
Age: 21
Level played in 2025: Single-A
How acquired: 2022 international free agency

Vaquero recorded a career-high .976 fielding percentage, playing 59 games in center field, 38 in right field and one game in left field.

His defensive marks ranked highly both within the Nationals’ farm system and among Single-A outfielders:

• 11 assists: First among Nationals’ Minor Leaguers, tied for fifth among Single-A outfielders
• 237 putouts: Third among Nationals’ Minor League outfielders, second Single-A among outfielders
• 827 1/3 innings: Fourth among Nationals’ Minor League outfielders, 12th among Single-A outfielders
• Four double plays: First among Nationals’ Minor League outfielders

“The kid plays hard every single day …” said Longosz. “Being in Freddy [Single-A Fredricksburg] that whole year helped him. Being with [manager] Billy McMillon there, who had been a former outfield/baserunning coordinator, helped him in the outfield. He is eager to learn and still 21 years old. I think having that consistency every day, working on his approach at the plate will help guide him going into next season.”

Baserunner of the Year: INF Seaver King (Nats' No. 7 prospect)
Age: 22
Levels played in 2025: High-A, Double-A
How acquired: 2024 Draft, first round (10th overall)

Playing in his first full season of pro ball, King recorded an 88.2 stolen-base percentage. He ranked fifth among Nationals’ Minor Leaguers with 30 stolen bases.

Within the organization, King was tied for fourth in triples (five), fifth in hits (123) and runs (65), tied for seventh in doubles (19) and total bases (170), tied for eighth in extra-base hits (30) and ninth in batting average (.244). He is participating in the Arizona Fall League, where he hopes to establish more consistency.

“He’s a leader in the clubhouse … you can see on the field, the way he conducts himself," said Longosz. “I think he learned a lot -- you never want somebody on the IL -- when Paul DeJong was down there. He learned a lot from him those two weeks, which was outstanding for his development.”

Nationals Way Award: OF Andrew Pinckney (Nats' No. 30 prospect)
Age: 24
Levels played in 2025: Triple-A
How acquired: 2023 Draft, fourth round

Pinckney received the award for the player who “best demonstrates professionalism, leadership, loyalty, passion, selflessness, durability, determination and work ethic.”

Pinckney had several personal bests on both sides of the field. He paced all Nats Minor League outfielders with 271 putouts and tied for fourth with seven outfield assists.

At the plate, he ranked among the farm system leaders in home runs (20, second), on-base percentage (.348, second), stolen bases (34, second), slugging percentage (.431, second), OPS (.779, third), runs (77, third), RBI (66, fourth), batting average (.269, fourth), total bases (194, fourth), hits (121, sixth), extra-base hits (31, seventh) and walks (44, tied for ninth).

“I try to lead by example, show up to the field early, get my work done and do what I need to do to be ready for the game,” Pinckney said. “When the game starts, just play as hard as I can and not take anything for granted. When I do all those things, I think it’s a good example for anybody and it’s fun to watch and it’s fun to play that way. I work my tail off and try to win the game.”