The Nats drafted Eli Willits, a high school shortstop out of Oklahoma, with the number #1 overall pick in Sunday night's MLB Draft. Mark & Al react to the selection that surprised most prognosticators. Ethan Holliday, the other highly touted high schooler from Oklahoma, was picked by Colorado at #4 overall.

(08:30) Willits is just 17 years old and has stated that he would like to be in the Big Leagues by when he turns 20. Willits had an eye opening OPS of 1.514 this past high school season.

(15:15) Handicapping the SS depth within the organization. Last year Washington drafted Seaver King, a shortstop from Wake Forest, who currently is playing with AA-Harrisburg.

(22:00) The Nationals were swept in Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon hours before the MLB Draft began. The 8-1 loss sends the team 20 games under .500 into the All-Star Break. For comparison sake, the organization was just two games below .500 entering June.

(27:45) C.J. Abrams was a late scratch due to shoulder soreness. This was significant because his injury info was released mid-game; a strong departure from protocol under Mike Rizzo. James Wood was given is first gever ame off on Sunday as he prepares for Monday night's HR Derby in Atlanta.

(36:00) Jackson Rutledge struggled by allowing four Brewer runs while recording just one out. The 2019 1st Round pick's ERA has a reached a scary 6.92 as the team decides what to do with the righty.

The Nats let it slip it away on Saturday afternoon in their 6-5 walk-off loss in Milwaukee. Al begins with a quick preview of Sunday night's MLB Draft where the Nationals hold the #1 overall pick. Kade Anderson, pitcher from LSU, is the likeliest selection in the top spot.

(04:00) Kyle Finnegan inherited a 5-3 lead, but very quickly allowed three Brewers runs. The final blow came on a Caleb Durbin single after Andrew Vaughn's 2-run double tied up the affair.

(07:00) Shinnosuke Ogasawara only lasted four innings and shortly after taping was optioned to AAA-Rochester.

(10:10) Finnegan's blown save ruined the intial storyline that belonged to Brady House. The rookie hit his first two career MLB homers and the 2nd one gave Washington a 4-3 lead in the top of the 8th.

(13:15) MASN reports that James Wood & MacKenzie Gore will fly to Atlanta on a team provided private jet for the All-Star festivities. This recalls a brief controversy involving Juan Soto a few years back.

The Nats lost 8-3 on Friday night in Milwaukee as the road trip moved to its second leg. Al quickly circles back to the curious comments made by Davey Martinez just a few days prior to his firing. Following the Nationals win on Thursday July 3rd, Davey made a specific point to thank the organization. It was Martinez's 500th and final win as Washington's skipper.

(05:15) Brady House had a RBI double while continuing to play good defense at 3B. Riley Adams, who likely will start most days for the time being, homered in the defeat.

(07:45) Mitchell Parker did not pitch well as he allowed seven runs in less than five innings of work. Through 19 stats this season, Parker will enter the All-Star break with a 5.12 ERA.

(11:00) Al opens up the mailbag, send in a question to natschatpodcast@gmail.com

(18:30) Hear about how to get a free drink on Monday at Walter's courtesy of Mike Rizzo.

(20:45) Ben McDonald tells Tim his scouting report on Ethan Holliday.

The Nats were trounced by the Cardinals 8-1 in Thursday night's rubber match. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al convene after the Cards' Miles Mikolas continued his dominance over Washington's offense.

(05:30) C.J. Abrams lost track of how many outs there were in the top of the 8th and it led to an inning ending double play. Abrams apologized afterwards and took the responsibility.

(11:00) Michael Soroka only lasted four innings and allowed a pair of runs. Soroka will enter the All-Star break with an ERA of 5.35.

(15:45) The game got away from Washington after Mason Thompson gave up five runs in the bottom of the 6th. To be fair, Thompson was plagued by sloppy defense behind him.

(22:35) A preview of this weekend's MLB Draft as the Nats have top pick. The most likely options come from both college and high school.

The Nats gave Miguel Cairo his first win as interim Manager with an 8-2 thrashing of the Cardinals. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al recap the victory that saw three homers, including the 24th of the season by James Wood.

(05:30) MacKenzie Gore earned the win as he only allowed one run in six innings of work. Gore will be able to pitch in the All-Star Game since he will not take the mound this Sunday in Milwaukee.

(12:45) Six of the Nats nine hits were for extra bases on Wednesday night. Nathaniel Lowe gave Gore an early cushion by hitting a 3-run HR in top of the 1st. Amed Rosario also went deep and he is worth monitoring as a potential trade chip at the end of the month.

(19:00) Luis Garcia, the newly signed reliever and not to be confused with the 2B, made his first appearance with the team in the bottom of the 9th.

(24:10) Trevor William's season is over and is to be determined which kind of surgery he will have due to his partial UCL tear. It is possible that he will undergo "Tommy John" surgery, which would put his 2026 season in doubt.

(27:00) A discussion about Keibert Ruiz's 2nd trip this summer to the concussion IL.

(30:30) Reaction to Mike Rizzo's Wednesday morning radio appearance on 106.7 the Fan. Did he refuse to fire Davey?

(38:15) Josh Whetzel, the Voice of the Rochester Red Wings, gives his weekly update from AAA. Hear about Cade Cavalli's recent outing and Nick Schnell's continued power surge.

Tuesday marked a new era for the franchise, at least in the interim. Mark (From St. Louis) & Al examine the pregame comments by Miguel Cairo & Mike DeBartolo. Cairo was elevated from Bench Coach and was emotional when discussing his long time friend Davey Martinez. The Nationals lost his debut 4-2 at the Cardinals after a lengthy rain delay.

(05:10) DeBartolo made it clear that the organization will be revamping how it uses data and technology while he is in charge. He has a busy first month on the job as the Draft is this weekend and the Trade Deadline is at the end of July.

(17:10) Addressing the elephant in the GM room.... what to do with MacKenzie Gore?

(22:30) Cairo has been an interim manager before as he took over the Chicago White Sox in the final few months of the 2022 season. Among the minor changes Cairo made, Bob Henley will return to D.C. as a MLB Field Coordinator.

(26:20) James Wood nonchalantly made a leaping grab over the LF fence to rob the Cardinals of a homer.

(31:00) Jake Irvin took the loss as he allowed four St. Louis runs in six innings of work. Mark mentions that it was another instance of Irvin showing declining velocity on the mound.

(32:45) Keibert Ruiz was moved back to the 7-Day Concussion IL and Drew Millas returned from AAA-Rochester.

A few hours after a 6-4 loss to Boston, the Nats fired GM Mike Rizzo & Manager Davey Martinez. Mark & Al react to the major organizational moves as it is truly an end of the an era. Rizzo became the permanent GM in 2009, Martinez became skipper after 2017, and they were the GM/Manager combo for the 2019 World Series championship.

(13:15) Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post that he had to "navigate that ownership group for 20 years", which leads little to the imagination. Mike DeBartolo has been elevated from Assistant to interim GM and the managerial position will be addressed on Monday's off-day.

(19:00) Rizzo was masterful at trades, but not so much at drafting.

(24:45) Would any manager have had positive results with this roster the past few years? This was Davey's first Managerial job and he is by far the longest tenured skipper in team history.

(32:20) Ownership uncertainty is front and center in the search for the next GM. Will some qualified candidates shy away from this job?

(39:40) Will Rizzo & Martinez get these same positions with other teams in the future?

(44:00) Washington begins a six game road trip on Tuesday night in St. Louis after these major changes. Early indications are that the interim manager will either be Miguel Cairo or Matt LeCroy.

The Nats were crushed 10-3 by the visiting Red Sox on Saturday afternoon. Mark & Al recap the poor defensive showing which was exacerbated by the 7-run top of the 3rd for Boston.

(04:15) Mitchell Parker committed a fielding error in the disastrous 3rd inning and the other came by corner infielders. Mark points out just how poor the Nationals infield team defense has been this season. Parker stayed in the game and finished his day with three straight scoreless frames.

(18:30) Keibert Ruiz had a RBI ground out in an at bat that felt very predictable. The offense was put in a tough hole as it was behind 9-0 before the bottom of the 9th.

(24:00) Mason Thompson has been activated as he battles back from a 2nd Tommy John surgery. Zach Brzykcy was sent down to AAA-Rochester in the corresponding roster move.

(26:45) Derek Law was moved to the 60-day IL and it seems quite unlikely that he will pitch this season.

(32:00) Shinnosuke Ogasawara will start on Sunday for the Nats instead of Cade Cavalli. Why?