Brady

House

House has swung the bat well so far with an .824 OPS, but he’ll get a breather versus Andrew Painter in his MLB debut and the Philadelphia pitching staff. Jorbit Vivas will handle the hot corner and hit fifth while House rests.

House did not score a run or drive in a run as the Nationals produced just two extra base hits over nine innings of action. The 22-year-old third baseman is now hitting .444/.462/.861 in 37 Grapefruit League at-bats, though he has walked just once. He’ll be a reasonable NL-only league 3B or CI option to start the season despite hitting just .234/.252/.322 in a 73-game trial in 2025.

The first double was an 84-mph grounder down the line, but House clobbered the second one at 111.4 mph, which was just one-tenth of a mph off his high from last year. He’s 5-for-11 with two homers already this spring, so if there was any doubt about him being the Nationals’ Opening Day third baseman, it’s quickly going away.

If the Nationals were looking to compete, they ought to have tried upgrading at third base over the winter. As is, though, there’s no harm in giving House another opportunity. Plate discipline is a problem, but his exit velocity numbers as a rookie were a fair amount better than his .234/.252/.322 line suggests. His homers today were hit 415 and 398 feet.

The Nationals didn’t have a single baserunner against White Sox’ right-hander Shane Smith until House smacked a one-out single in the sixth inning to spoil the perfect game bid. That would be their only baserunner in the game as the Nationals struck out 13 times in the contest. The 22-year-old infielder finishes his 2025 campaign hitting .234/.252/.322 with four homers and 29 RBI in 274 plate appearances with the Nationals.

The rookie has hit just .224 in 48 games since the All-Star Break with two home runs, 19 runs scored, 17 RBI, and three steals. He is presumably the favorite to start at third base for Washington in 2026, given his draft pedigree, but the team will need to see some improvement from him in the off-season. Paul DeJong will get the start at third base on Wednesday.

After giving several guys off Sunday, the Nationals are back with more of their core lineup today, with the exception being that Paul DeJong is again starting over House. Prior to yesterday, House had started five straight games at third and nine out of 10. DeJong, though, doubled twice yesterday, which apparently earned him the nod. House is batting .239/.253/.339 in 241 plate appearances as a 22-year-old rookie. Statcast thinks he’s been pretty unlucky, what with his 47% hard-hit rate, but he wouldn’t seem to have locked up a spot for 2026.

House has been a part-timer lately, as the rebuilding Nationals have somehow gotten it into their heads that it’s worth starting Paul DeJong. To be fair, House has had a rough go of it, what with his .595 OPS and 61/5 K/BB in 213 plate appearances. Still, there’s a decent chance he has a future as a starting third baseman for the Nationals, and it’d be a very bad thing if anyone in the organization is thinking the same thing about DeJong.

García Jr. sat against a left-handed pitcher yesterday, but will be in the lineup against lefty Jacob Lopez today. Brady House will take a seat with Paul DeJong starting at third base, and Josh Bell will also be on the bench with James Wood at DH and Robert Hassell III in right field.

House appears to be finding his footing at the highest level, hitting .370 (10-for-27) with two homers, five RBI and one steal over his last seven games. The 22-year-old rookie third baseman capped off a three-hit effort with a seventh-inning double after picking up an RBI earlier in the contest with a fourth-inning sacrifice fly. He still isn’t hitting for a ton of over-the-fence power, but it’s definitely coming based on his minor league track record.