MLB Draft: Washington Nationals sign two top prep talents to over-slot deals

Highly touted high schoolers Landon Harmon and Coy James signed over-slot deals to join the Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals are continuing to sign members of their 2025 draft class. Today, they signed two of their high profile high school picks to big money deals. Third round pick Landon Harmon and fifth round pick Coy James both signed today, receiving signing bonuses of $2.5 million each.

Slot Game:

These two players are the real prizes of the draft class. They are part of the reason why the Nationals decided to cut a deal with Eli Willits at the number one overall pick. By saving money on the Willits pick, they brought in a trio of high upside high schoolers in later rounds. Fourth rounder Miguel Sime Jr. already signed for $2 million.

Now the Nationals have signed their other big money prepsters. Sime, Harmon and James were all seen as top 100 talents by most of the industry, but the Nats got them at 80th, 111th and 142nd respectively.

You have to look at the money when discussing how this was possible. The MLB Draft is all about trying to find the best ways to allocate money. With these bonus numbers, the Nats are really treating these guys like they are top 40-50 talents in the draft.

At $2.5 million, Harmon and James are being paid the recommended slot value of the 39th overall pick. Sime, who is getting paid $2 million is getting paid about what you would expect the 49th overall pick to be paid. It is complicated stuff, but it is crucial to understand when talking about the draft.

The Nationals overall bonus pool, or how much they can spend on their class is about $16.6 million. Mike DeBartolo and the draft room decided the best way to spend that pool of cash is to cut a deal with Willits, a guy they thought was a comparable talent to an Ethan Holliday. With that money, they splashed the cash on high upside high schoolers in round 3-5.

What are the Nationals Getting:

Now it is time to talk about the players themselves, what are the Nationals getting in Landon Harmon and Coy James? From the way they paid them, they are obviously expecting big things from these two.

Let’s start with Harmon since he was picked first. Landon Harmon is a big right handed pitcher out of Mississippi with a monster fastball. The fastball is a plus pitch that could become plus-plus in the future. His fastball is a tantalizing combination of velocity and shape.

Harmon already sits in the 93-96 MPH range and can touch 99 MPH on his heater. This is despite Harmon still having plenty of room to fill out his 6’5 190 pound frame. There is already good velocity with more in the tank. It is also a heater that just explodes out of his hand thanks to the carry he gets and how gets down the mound.

It is one of the best fastballs of any high schooler in the draft. Harmon also has a solid slider to go with it. He has shown an ability to manipulate shape and really spin the ball. It is not an elite pitch like the fastball, but he has shown a real feel for spin. Harmon has the potential to have a plus slider.

The changeup is not really there yet and developing a third pitch will be an important part of his development. He has plenty of time to find a changeup, or some other third offering. For a guy with elite stuff, Harmon has solid command to go with it.

That part of his game reminds me of Travis Sykora coming out of high school. Both are big guys with big stuff, but also have a surprising feel to pitch. Landon Harmon has the potential to explode in a very similar style as Sykora, who is now a top 30 prospect in the sport.

Now it is time to talk about Coy James. He is an interesting prospect and a real steal for the Nats in the fifth round. This is no normal fifth round pick and his bonus shows us that. It is the most money ever given to a player after the fourth round.

James actually had some late first to early second round buzz prior to the draft. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, who is a plugged in guy mocked James to be selected by the Tigers 24th overall in his last mock draft.

The North Carolina native has an intriguing combination of hitting ability and power. He has a chance to be an above average hitter with above average power. A star as an underclassman, James had a rocky summer where scouts felt he lost some athleticism trying to put on muscle.

While James is a shortstop for now, he is likely to move off the position. A move to either third base or second base makes sense. However, the biggest selling point of James’ game is his offensive ability.

Despite being a fifth rounder, James has big time potential. He was rumored to have a strong commitment to Ole Miss, so the Nats had to pony up to keep him off campus. Now, the only major piece that is not signed is second rounder Ethan Petry, who should sign very soon.

Overall, this is shaping up to be an impressive draft class. This is the most excited I have been about a draft class in a very long time. Our 2023 group is the only other time I have been really excited about a class lately. However, that group does not have the depth of talent this years class has.

Hopefully these guys can rise through the system and be part of the next great Washington Nationals team. This group excites me and can hopefully help the Nats farm system rise up the rankings again.