Travis Sykora, Marquis Grissom Jr. to represent Washington Nationals in Futures Game

Nationals pitching prospects Travis Sykora and Marquis Grissom Jr. are headed to Atlanta for the Futures Game

The Futures Game might be the coolest event of All-Star weekend. It is the All-Star game for prospects. Top prospects from each organization are selected to showcase their talents to kick off the weekend of festivities. The rosters are stacked this year with 31 of the top 100 prospects at the event.

Two Nationals prospects got selected for the festivities. One was an obvious selection, while the other was a bit of a surprise. Travis Sykora and Marquis Grissom Jr. were selected to be the Nationals representatives at the Futures Game.

Sykora was an easy pick. He has been dominating the Minor Leagues the past two seasons, putting up video game type numbers. Despite a somewhat shaky Double-A debut, Sykora still has a sub-2 ERA on the season and 76 strikeouts in 44.1 innings.

We have discussed Sykora at length on this site. He has ace potential with three plus pitches and solid control. His upper 90’s fastball is nasty and his slider and splitter play extremely well off of it. He is a bit chase reliant, which was exposed in his Double-A debut, but he is the Nats best prospect and has a chance to be one of the best pitchers in baseball someday.

Sykora was a no-brainer, but Marquis Grissom Jr. was a pick I did not see coming. Grissom, who’s father was a 17 year big leaguer, had great seasons in 2023 and 2024. He put up ERA’s of 2.18 and 2.21 those years. However, he has not been as good this season with a 4.70 ERA across two levels.

Grissom is a reliever who relies heavily on his elite changeup. It is a 70 grade pitch according to pipeline and it is the star of the show for him. After a great start in Harrisburg, Grissom has struggled in Rochester, like most relievers there.

For a bullpen guy, his 92-95 MPH fastball is fairly pedestrian. However, he has the ability to ride that elite changeup into a middle relief role. If he can turn it around in Rochester, there is a chance we see Grissom before the end of the season.

The Futures Game is such a great event because it gives the games next generation a chance to introduce themselves to the world. With these young guys wanting to make a good impression, the quality of baseball is also extremely high.

Sykora, Grissom and other top prospects from around the league will get a chance to show their talent to the fans on July 12th at Truist Park. It is a great event for the fans and I will 100% be tuning in.