“This 18-year-old is 6’4” and ALREADY throws 100 MPH”
The response to this Instagram post quickly rose to over 45,000 likes.
MLB and Topps collaborated last week to highlight the Nationals' No. 16 prospect, electric right-hander Miguel Sime Jr.
“HE’S STILL A TEENAGER,” the caption began.
When the Nationals report to West Palm Beach, Fla., for Spring Training, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Sime will prepare for his first season of pro baseball.
The Nats selected Sime in the fourth round of the 2025 Draft out of Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, N.Y. Sime, who had committed to LSU, signed for $2 million -- more than double the $687,800 slot value. Sime was one of nine pitchers drafted by the Nationals last July, including No. 8 prospect Landon Harmon.
“I think right now I'm pretty raw with the tools that I've been blessed with,” Sime, an MLB Develops alumnus, said last summer at Nationals Park. “I've been sharpening them as time goes on, but I think the player I want to be is going to be a complete pitcher.”
Leading up to the MLB Draft, Sime participated in the MLB Draft League, a showcase created to highlight top amateur talent. He hurled a jaw-dropping 100.9 mph, setting a record for the fastest-recorded pitch in Draft League history.
“Ever since then, my goal has been trying to throw 100 without trying to throw 100 and do it as effortlessly as possible,” Sime said. “I think I'm getting pretty close to that goal, and hopefully I can keep continuing that.”
MLB Pipeline wrote of Sime’s fastball: “The pitch has serious life to it, and he can sink it, with one scout calling him a ‘pure rock thrower.’ The pitch can be so devastating that he hasn’t always needed anything else, but he’s worked hard on his breaking ball. He has feel to spin a low-80s curveball -- landed a good one in the zone in the All-American Game -- and seemed more comfortable with it during his senior season. There’s also an 85-88 mph changeup that he’ll need to develop a feel for in pro ball.”
Pipeline evaluated Sime’s arsenal with the scouting grades of 70 fastball, 55 curveball, 40 changeup, 40 control, 45 overall.
“[To me, a complete pitcher is] having feel for every single pitch of theirs and throwing every pitch with that confidence,” Sime said. “I have confidence in my fastball; I might not have the same confidence in my curveball or my changeup, for example. But a complete pitcher, I think, has the same confidence in everything.”
Sime joined a Nationals system headlined by a pair of flamethrowers: right-handers Travis Sykora (Nats No. 3, MLB No. 49) and Jarlin Susana (Nats No. 4, MLB No. 87). Susana notably clocked 103 mph during the 2024 Spring Breakout.
COMPLETE NATIONALS PROSPECT COVERAGE
In the 2026 MLB Pipeline Executives Prospects Poll, Susana came in fourth place for the best fastball. Sykora and recently acquired righty Luis Perales (No. 5) also received votes.
In the best future closer category, Susana ranked second (19.5% of votes), Sykora ranked fourth (7.3%) and Perales received votes.
Sykora received votes for the best pitching prospect, too.