After a hot spring, Brady House could be knocking on the door sooner rather than later
Brady House has been marketed as the third baseman of the future for a couple years now. However, his performance level has been up and down in that time. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but still has some kinks to iron out. This spring has been a positive one so far. The 21 year old third baseman should be knocking down the door sometime this season.
The Washington Nationals had a big hole at third base entering the offseason. However, the only third baseman they brought in was Paul Dejong on a cheap one year deal. This shows the amount of faith the Nationals still have in Brady House despite a down 2024, where he fell of most top 100 prospect lists.
While House was very durable in 2024, and hit 19 homers, there were some red flags. He had a sub .700 ops and a sub .300 OBP last season. House really struggled in AAA, with 66 wRC+ and an alarming 43% chase rate.
However, he has looked really good this spring. House is hitting .389 with a .920 OPS. In 224 AB’s, House had 7 walks in AAA. This spring he already has three in just 18 at bats. That is a very good sign for the youngster. He has also made a few nice plays with the glove.
As a former shortstop, House is a borderline plus defender at third base. He has a great arm and is a natural mover. House has a Matt Chapman starter kit in a lot of ways. He is a great defender at third with big time power. However, he is slightly whiff prone and doesn’t walk a lot. He still has a ways to go to reach that ceiling, but the physical attributes are there.
Now the question is when should House be in the big leagues? My guess is that the Nats put him on a similar timeline they did with James Wood last year. Let Paul Dejong hold down third for the start of the season and let House master the AAA level. However, if House thrives and Dejong struggles, the youngster could be up sometime in June.
Unlike Wood in 2024, House has triple-A experience heading into the season. However, he did not exactly thrive at the level. The Nationals will not and should not have House break camp with the team, but it is great to see him thrive this spring. There are still some warts in his game, but it is abundantly clear that Brady House has the talent. It is on the Nationals to refine that talent and turn House into the high quality everyday third baseman they expect him to be.
With Brady House, Robert Hassell and more, Triple-A Rochester is going to be a fun team to follow to start the season. A lot of guys down there are hungry and ready for their shot at the show. It is up to the MLB players to keep their jobs and fight off these hungry youngsters.