The Washington Nationals farm system consists of six Minor League Baseball affiliates across the United States and in the Dominican Republic. Four teams are independently owned, while twoâÂÂthe Florida Complex League Nationals and Dominican Summer League NationalsâÂÂare owned by the major league club.
From 1969 to 2004, the Washington Nationals played as the Montreal Expos. The Expos-Nationals franchise has been affiliated with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators of the Eastern League since 1991, making it the longest-running affiliation in the organization among teams not owned by the Nationals. Washington's newest affiliates are the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings of the International League and the High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks of the South Atlantic League, which became Nationals affiliates in 2021.
Geographically, Washington's closest domestic affiliate is the Single-A Fredericksburg Nationals of the Carolina League, which are approximately away. Washington's furthest domestic affiliate is the FCL Nationals of the Florida Complex League some away.
The Washington Nationals farm system consists of six minor league affiliates.
Prior to the 1963 season, Major League Baseball (MLB) initiated a reorganization of Minor League Baseball that resulted in a reduction from six classes to four (Triple-A, Double-A, Class A, and Rookie) in response to the general decline of the minors throughout the 1950s and early-1960s when leagues and teams folded due to shrinking attendance caused by baseball fans' preference for staying at home to watch MLB games on television. The only change made within the next 27 years was Class A being subdivided for the first time to form Class A Short Season in 1966.
Minor League Baseball operated with six classes from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, the Class A level was subdivided for a second time with the creation of Class A-Advanced. The Rookie level consisted of domestic and foreign circuits.
The current structure of Minor League Baseball is the result of an overall contraction of the system beginning with the 2021 season. Class A was reduced to two levels: High-A and Low-A. Low-A was reclassified as Single-A in 2022.