Washington Nationals news & notes: Nats’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Travis Sykora …

Notes and quotes on the Nationals’ top pitching prospect (according to MLB Pipeline’s scouts)…

July 7, 2023 – ZOOM:

“He was a first round guy going into the year.”

This is Kris Kline talking.

Kline, then Assistant GM and VP of Scouting Ops, and now a Special Assistant to GM and President of Baseball Ops Mike Rizzo, was speaking on the second night of the 2023 Draft.

He’d just overseen the selection of right-handed pitcher Travis Sykora, in the 3rd Round of the draft, with the 71st overall pick.

Kline explained to reporters why Sykora was available when Washington’s spot, the first pick of the 3rd Round came up.

“Over the summer he had some minor delivery issues,” Kline said.

“It was more effort, a little head-whack and recoil in his delivery. [He] really cleaned it up in a short period of time this year and it looks a lot more polished, a lot less effort now. He’s a kid that will reach triple-digits with his fastball. He’ll show you flashes of an above-average slider, a wipeout-type pitch that he’ll put guys away with. He’s got a split-finger that he’ll probably scrap and probably go to more of a traditional changeup in the end, but big body with a great arm and the makings of a plus slider.”

“We actually had a lot of history with him.” Mark Baca, then Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting, now the Nationals’ West Coast Crosschecker, was on the Zoom call with Kline.

Baca added to Kline’s scouting report with information on the club’s history of scouting the high school pitcher from Round Rock High School, in Round Rock, TX, where Sykora put up 108 Ks in 58 IP as a senior, giving up just seven earned runs on 22 hits (for a 1.09 ERA), while issuing just 15 walks.

According to Baca, the club’s scouts were following Sykora for years.

“Going back a couple of summers ago … he was on the radar, probably projected going into the year probably middle of the first round, so we feel very fortunate to have gotten him where we got him.”

7/10/23 PRESS RELEASE FROM NATIONALS:

“[Sykora] was ranked the No. 36 draft prospect by Baseball America and the No. 40 draft prospect by MLBPipeline.com. He was ranked the No. 29 overall prospect by Perfect Game and the No. 5 right-handed pitching prospect. Perfect Game also ranked him the No. 2 prospect from the state of Texas and top right-handed pitching prospect in the state.”

Sykora fell from a potential first-round pick to the third round, but signed for $2.6M, which MLB’s Pipeline scouts note in his write-up, was, “… (roughly Top 35 money) to get him away from a Texas commitment.”

Sykora didn’t pitch in the minors in 2023, but his first taste of pro ball this season, pitching for Class-A Fredericksburg, was a success for the 20-year-old, 6’6’’ right-hander, and Class-A Carolina League champions. He was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

He was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year too, “after going 5–3 with a 2.33 ERA, 129 strikeouts and 27 walks in 85.0 innings across 20 starts,” as the Nationals noted:

“From his debut on May 1 through the end of the season, Sykora led all Minor League pitchers (min. 85.0 IP) with a .168 opponent’s batting average and 5.29 hits per 9.0 innings, while he ranked among them in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (2nd, 13.66) and WHIP (3rd, 0.91). His 129 strikeouts paced all of Single-A and ranked fourth among Nationals Minor Leaguers, despite his later start.”

“He’s a big physical pitcher out of Texas that we overpaid, gave him first-round money in the third-round a couple years ago.” That’s Mike Rizzo, talking with the Sports Junkies.

He said Sykora’s rise has been quicker than expected. Sykora is ranked the No. 2 prospect in Washington’s system right now by MLB Pipeline’s scouts, the top pitcher on the list.

“He’s a projection right-handed pitcher that really developed fairly quickly. He’s an upper 90s [mph] guy, he’s touched a hundred a couple times. He’s got a good slider, a good changeup, good delivery. He’s a horse.”

In Rizzo’s estimation, as a 20-year-old pitching at Class-A, Sykora, is, “… just scratching the surface and starting to come into his own.”

“I was watching Sykora pitch.” Big league manager Davey Martinez, in talking about Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in 2023, coming to the majors this past August, talked about catching some of Sykora’s outing that week as well. “He threw the ball really well, so we’re excited about him as well. He’s young, we might not see him anytime soon…”

But …