Nationals rookies Yohandy Morales, Jared Simpson flash enticing potential in MLB debuts

The one thing Nationals fans know about Yohandy Morales is he has immense power.

The pleas to call up Morales existed all season, and they got louder with each of the 25 home runs he hit for Triple-A Rochester.

For much of the first half, the team didn’t have a role for the 24-year-old. Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead were both having career years and entrenched at the corner infield spots. The designated hitter spot was rotated between whichever outfielder needed a day off their feet or first basemen Abimelec Ortiz and Andrés Chaparro.

But with James Wood still on the injured list (oblique), and rosters expanding to 28 players at the start of September, the timing lined up to recall Morales after he posted a .882 on-base-plus-slugging percentage at Triple-A.

That power surge continued in the majors, where Morales recorded his first major-league hit on a third-inning solo homer. Morales, a second-round pick in 2023, connected on a splitter outside of the zone off Atlanta Braves starter AJ Smith-Shawver. He struck out in his next at-bat before rocketing a leadoff double in the seventh and a two-out single in the eighth, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

“Best experience ever,” Morales said after Tuesday’s 9-5 win over the Braves. “Everything we dreamed of, growing up, and all the hard work that I put in paid off to get to this moment. Super excited, super happy, and [it] feels better that we got the win.”

That Morales turned his season around after an incredibly poor spring training is a testament to the work he put in with the new coaches to maximize his talents.

“He didn’t hang his head or feel sorry for himself,” president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said before Tuesday’s game. “He went right into the year in Rochester and tore it up and didn’t slow down really at any point.”

Lefty reliever Jared Simpson also was recalled and made his debut Tuesday. Simpson and Morales aren’t near the top of the organization’s top prospects list, but they both stood out with their productivity in the minors throughout the year. Simpson, 26, posted a 2.30 ERA in 44 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

Simpson impressed in his first appearance, throwing three scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks while sitting at 94.6 mph with his fastball. He entered the game in the fifth with runners on first and second and no outs and induced a double play and a flyout to end the inning.

The Nationals told Simpson he had the third batter in the inning, so he started warming in the bullpen. But once the moment arrived, his heart rate rose.

“But [lefty Erik Tolman] just told me to breathe,” Simpson said. “It’s the same stuff every single day, so I just took that to note.”

Simpson thought his MLB debut would come as a closer with the elaborate entrance as he jogged toward the mound. But even without the theatrics, he’s taken to the multi-inning role and had a memorable debut. It was good enough to earn his first career win.

After escaping the fifth-inning jam, Simpson said it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders. But the game was far from over, so he had to keep his energy up to prepare for the sixth and seventh.

“He just looked calm, cool and collected,” manager Blake Butera said. “When you see a guy out there that seems pretty easy-going, it makes you feel good when you give him the ball.”

Triple-A manager Matthew LeCroy sat in the Nationals’ dugout for Tuesday’s game. Butera acknowledged that he didn’t know much about Simpson entering the game, so he asked LeCroy for his opinion.

“I walked in the dugout, [and] I’m like, ‘This guy pretty good?’” Butera recalled asking LeCroy. “He’s like, ‘Been pretty good for us.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, we’ll see,’ and then [Simpson] does that. I’m like, ‘You’ve had these guys the whole time?’”

Morales and Simpson, along with Tolman, have joined the big-league team and immediately contributed.

While Morales faces more of an uphill battle to carve out a role on next season’s team, Simpson and Tolman could earn a longer look at spring training next year if they capitalize on the opportunity in front of them.

Their early success also showcased the alignment that the organization has throughout the minor-league levels.

“It just shows a lot of players that we have in the clubhouse, everyone’s willing to do their part to win games,” Morales said.