Former top five pick Elijah Green needs to find a way to make more contact
While he is just 21 years old, 2025 feels like a make or break year for former fifth overall pick Elijah Green. Despite his draft pedigree, Green is no longer a top 20 prospect in the Nationals system. This fall from grace is due to one thing, his inability to make contact.
Elijah Green is at the top of the list of Nationals prospects I am rooting for. He is a charismatic kid, who seems like he is working very hard. His dad is also a great follow on social media and would be a viral star if Green were to make the big leagues.
It is easy to see why Green was a top 5 pick in the 2022 draft. He has almost all the tools. Green is a blazing fast, stealing 39 bases in Low-A last year. He has light tower power, producing some of the best exit velocity numbers in the Minor Leagues. Green hit a home run at 116 MPH off the bat last year. The big center fielder plays excellent defense as well. He also has a cannon for an arm, registering 15 outfield assists in the last two seasons.
However, there is one big problem that has the potential to totally derail Green. It is his inability to make contact. He has struck out over 40% of the time each of his last two seasons in Low-A. This is just untenable and he will not make the big leagues if this does not change. Green has so much talent and is such a freak athlete, but the contact needs to improve.
Green does not need to be a Daniel Murphy type contact savant to be successful. All he needs to do is keep the strikeouts somewhat under control. He could strike out well over 30% of the time at the big league level and find ways to be effective. However, even accomplishing that is very much a question.
Green would have to be an outlier if he has any success based on his first two pro seasons. He truly has a 20 grade hit tool right now. However, if Joey Gallo found a way to be a productive pro for years, Green still has hope. He is still so young and so talented. It feels mean to pile on his lack of contact because he seems like a great kid and he knows where he needs to improve. However, this is the story with Green.
If the contact does not improve, he could be one of those former pro players who tries their hand at football. He is that kind of athlete and his dad was a pro bowl tight end. However, we are not at that point yet. There is still a path for Green to be a Michael A Taylor type player, who is a great athlete who is frustrating yet powerful at the plate.
Despite his struggles at Low-A, the Nats will probably give him a shot at High-A, to give him a change of scenery. It is something of a sink or swim season for Green. Almost everything is there for him, the athleticism, the power and the personality, he just needs to make contact.