Throughout the pre-draft process, the Washington Nationals were linked to many names. However, one kept popping up time and time again : Chris Hacopian.
The infielder from Texas A&M was considered to be one of the best, if not the best, hitters in the 2026 draft class. And after the Nationals added some depth to their farm system by way of some prep players via past trades, they decided to take a collegiate bat with their first-round pick .
So far, that decision looks to be the right one. The Nationals started Hacopian out with High-A Wilmington , as they were confident that his high-end hit tool could handle that level of competition. Based on what he's done to start his career, that projection seems to be correct.
Washington Nationals prospect Chris Hacopian | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
During Wilmington's most recent game on Aug. 25, Hacopian hit his first career professional homer. He is now slashing .263/.391/.342 across 12 games with eight strikeouts to eight walks. He's recorded a hit in seven out of those 12 contests, including three multi-hit performances and a knock in three straight.
The 21-year-old debuted at No. 6 in Washington's farm system, according to MLB Pipeline. Much of his projection is centered around his ability to hit , with Pipeline grading his hit tool at 60 on the 20-80 grading scale, while his power tool comes in at 50.
It's not clear how much pop Hacopian will have in his game going forward. While he did hit double-digit home runs in all three of his collegiate seasons, he ended up with just 40 longballs across 149 games and 711 plate appearances, which is a tad low for someone who is as offensively gifted as he is. That's why hitting his first professional home run this early in his career was a crucial milestone for Hacopian, since all nine of his previous total hits had been singles.
The good news is that he doesn't look overwhelmed during his first action in the minor leagues. He has struck out only 17.4% of the time, which is in the 84th percentile. And he's drawn a walk 17.4% of the time, as well, which is in the 87th percentile. However, he might be a bit too cautious at the plate right now, as he is swinging at pitches inside the zone just 63.4% of the time, which is in the 31st percentile.
That might be by design as Hacopian gets acclimated to the professional ranks. So after he gets more game experience under his belt, it will be interesting to see what his numbers look like at the end of the year.
In the meantime, it was great to see the No. 11 overall pick put a ball over the fence for the first time in his professional career, as Hacopian continues to impress during his early tenure on the farm.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/nationals/onsi as Nationals Top Prospect Chris Hacopian Records Notable Career-First .
