I would be quite surprised if the Washington Nationals do not have a heavy scouting presence in Fayetteville, Arkansas right now. There are two Arkansas Razorbacks players that could be in play for the Nats with their 11th pick in this upcoming draft. Those would be pitcher Hunter Dietz and catcher Ryder Helfrick.
The pair has arguably been the best battery in the SEC, and both are jumping up draft boards this season. They have both been big time performers in the SEC, and both play positions that the Nats need badly. I am going to breakdown their skills, and talk about which one would be a better fit for the Nats.
Let’s start with Helfrick. If you have watched any Nats games this season, you would know that the catching position has been a problem. Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas have both been total liabilities at the plate. The Nats traded for Harry Ford, but he has been awful in Triple-A this year. It is clear that the Nats still need to be searching for their catcher of the future.
The best catcher in this draft is Vahn Lackey out of Georgia Tech, but he is going to be a top 5 pick. That leaves Helfrick as the consolation prize. He is a very good prospect in his own right, ranking 10th on the Baseball America board and 16th on the MLB Pipeline board. His biggest strengths are his massive power and good defensive chops.
Helfrick has plus raw power and has 33 home runs in 140 career college games. His OPS has been over 1.000 in each of the past two seasons. However, there are some question marks about his hit tool. He does not project to hit for a great average, but the offensive bar for a catcher is not that high.
A good offensive comparison may be pre-2025 Cal Raleigh. That version of Raleigh hit around .220 with 25-30 homers. He was not an MVP candidate, but he was still one of the best catchers in baseball. That could be what we see from Helfrick. It is worth noting that Helfrick has lowered his strikeout percentage every year he has been in college, and is only striking out 17.5% of the time this year.
Kiley McDaniel of ESPN mocked Helfrick to the Nats, noting that the Razorbacks catcher has improved his contact rates significantly. Helfrick fits a need and is in the 11th overall pick range on talent. It just feels like a natural fit, and one we will hear about a lot as we approach the draft.
While Helfrick is a pretty easy prospect to analyze, his teammate Hunter Dietz is more polarizing. You can see how controversial he is based on his range. MLB Pipeline ranks him at 18th, while Baseball America has him all the way at 55th.
Personally, I think BA is way off on this one. Dietz is a massive left handed pitcher who throws in the mid to upper 90’s, while featuring several potentially plus breaking balls. He is not some massive projection either, posting a 3.43 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 65.2 innings in the SEC. Dietz was the first SEC pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts on the season.
This feels like a clear first round profile, so I am not sure what BA is missing here. Dietz did deal with injury issues before this season, and only threw 12.1 innings his first two years of college. However, injuries are just part of the game with pitchers these days. He was also a highly touted high school prospect, so it is not like this has come out of nowhere.
Over the past few years, Paul Toboni’s former club, the Red Sox, have loved a couple things. They really like SEC pitchers and big lefties. Dietz fits both of those categories, which could make him a fit for a front office with so many ties to the Red Sox. Last year, the Red Sox took SEC pitchers with three of their first four picks.
There is some cool video of Dietz throwing to Helfrick in a start against Alabama. Dietz was 95-97 and held the velocity into the 7th inning. Right now, it feels like Dietz could be a slight reach, but if he continues to dominate down the stretch and in post season play, he could fit squarely into the Nats range.
If he has not already, I would advise Paul Toboni to take a trip down to Arkansas. That is where you can find two of the most exciting prospects in the 2026 MLB Draft that fit the Nats range in the draft and positions of need. Hunter Dietz and Ryder Helfrick are two names Nationals fans need to be monitoring.