SAFEST PICK: Washington Nationals Draft Chris Hacopian as Hometown Star and Future IMPACT Bat

Washington Nationals play it safe with Chris Hacopian’s MLB Draft selection—could his elite bat-to-ball skills spark a new era in the nation’s capital? Ryan Clary breaks down why Hacopian, a hometown standout from Texas A&M, fits the Nationals’ vision and how his offensive consistency recalls early hype around Dylan Crews. The story dives into lineup philosophy, positional flexibility, and whether the Nats can develop Hacopian’s power the way they did with past stars like Anthony Rendon. Meanwhile, Foster Griffin earns All-Star honors after a remarkable comeback from Japan, but the Nats’ embattled bullpen threatens to derail a potential playoff push. Discussion centers on recent bullpen disasters, trade deadline strategies, and what the shaky relief corps means for October dreams.  00:00 Discussing Chris Hacopian's Draft Potential 05:29 Hacopian Breakdown 06:57 Nationals draft strategy 12:14 Foster Griffin's Breakout Season 13:21 Foster Griffin's All Star journey 16:34 Evaluating Nationals' Trade Strategy 25:02 Bob Nightengale Reports The Nats Shopped James Wood Follow Ryan Clary on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ryanclary11 Follow Locked On Nationals on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LO_Nationals   Everydayer Club Link: https://lockedonnationals.supercast.com/   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   Amazon This Back To School Season, spend less on your kids, with Amazon. With Amazon’s low Back To School Prices, just spend less on your kids. Because every dollar you don’t spend on them, is a dollar you haven’t spent on them.    Nutrafol Find out why Nutrafol is the only hair growth supplement brand trusted by MLB. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you visit https://Nutrafol.com and enter promo code LOCKEDONMLB. Stance Check out the ICON collection from Stance—premium comfort, performance, and durability designed for whatever your day brings.  Use promo Code LOCKEDON at checkout for 20% off your purchase.  Learn more at https://Stance.com. Stance. The Official Sock Partner of Major League Baseball. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at https://Indeed.com/podcast   KALSHI For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code LOCKEDON to get ten dollars when you trade ten. Kalshi. Trade on anything. Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. From the opening whistle to the final kick, Let There Be Goals on FanDuel.Visithttps://FANDUEL.COMto get started now.   FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.