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MLB Daylen Lile legs out a triple last season against the Braves. He could add a lot more of them in 2026. Scott Taetsch / Getty Images If nothing else, the Washington Nationals will not be predictable. They have new people calling the shots, young players with plenty of developmental meat left on the bone and an overhauled coaching staff to offer new instruction. With that, here are three bold predictions for the 2026 season. This is on the spicier end. The Nationals have two players who have been All-Stars before (James Wood, CJ Abrams). They have two players who are trending in that direction (Daylen Lile, Cade Cavalli). If Clayton Beeter catches fire for two months, or Luis Garcia Jr. has second base eligibility, and if it’s a weak year for second basemen, he could be in the mix. Advertisement The essence of the prediction is that a lot of players are going to be trying a lot of things. Some of them will see their numbers regress as a result of that experimentation. Washington will have players on a constant turnstile between D. C. and Triple-A Rochester, which should help their development but will not necessarily help their record. For some of these guys, the changes are going to hit, and hit. Depth has not been a strength of the roster in years past, but the top of the roster has a lot of real dudes. If you were not locked in on the Nationals in the second half last year, hello! The Nationals’ 22-year-old outfielder was not only a bright spot for Washington down the stretch — by w RC+, he was the third-best hitter in baseball in September, right alongside two dudes named Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani. For this prediction, I’d submit the following evidence for Lile joining Jimmy Rollins, Cristian Guzmán and Curtis Granderson on that short list: The Miami Marlins set this record in 2024, when they used 70 players. I think there’s a real scenario where Washington uses 40 pitchers by the end of the year. It’s a bit hazy on the position player end, with a handful of players seemingly set in their everyday lineup. But as manager Blake Butera has said over and over, the roster on Opening Day will not necessarily be the same roster you’ll see for the April 3 home opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Particularly with their pitchers, the Nationals should see a ton of movement. They have already seen significant velocity jumps in their system, which has helped some lesser-known arms make real gains. They have a staff in Triple-A Rochester with multiple guys (Mitchell Parker, Josiah Gray, Andrew Alvarez) who have done this before. They will prioritize matchups in their bullpen — and without any established names in it, there could be a lot of players up and down throughout the course of the year. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Spencer Nusbaum is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the Washington Nationals. Before joining The Athletic, he spent two years covering the Nationals for The Washington Post. He is a graduate of American University. Follow Spencer on Twitter @spencernusbaum_