Scouting Report

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Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 60 | Arm: 45 | Field: 55 | Overall: 40

While most of the scouting focus at Iowa was on the Hawkeyes' all-prospect rotation, they also have an outfielder who could go in the top five rounds. Petersen earned all-Big Ten Conference honors and starred in the playoffs to help Bourne with the Cape Cod League championship in 2023. He was posting a strong encore this spring before stress reactions in both his shins affected his swing and eventually ended his season in late April.

A right-handed hitter, Petersen has improved his ability to make hard contact and his plate discipline throughout his college career. Though he shows some feel for driving the ball in the air to his pull side, some scouts question his ability to turn on quality fastballs and hit for power with wood bats. He slugged just .329 with wood on the Cape and may top out at 12-15 homers per year.

Petersen is a consistent plus runner who will post occasional plus-plus times, and his quickness and instincts make him a dynamic basestealer. He spent most of his college career in left field despite his speed, so his ability to play center remains unproven. He possesses fringy arm strength that is playable in left or center.

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Arm: 40 | Field: 50 | Overall: 40

Petersen was an all-Big Ten honoree as an Iowa sophomore in 2023 and looked set to achieve similar status by hitting .333 and slugging .571 in 33 games as a Hawkeyes junior, only to see his ’24 season cut short by stress reactions in both his shins. The Nationals took him in the eighth round and signed him for slot at $230,900, and a similar story of good results mixed in with injuries carried over to pro ball. Petersen missed the start of his first full season with a hamstring issue and managed only 44 games with High-A Wilmington, hitting .297/.398/.490 with a 161 wRC+ in that span. He made up for the lost time in the Arizona Fall League with a .305 average and a .934 OPS in 17 contests there.

The right-handed hitter is constantly shifting in the box, making him look eager to get things going. There were some red flags in his Fall League performance, despite the promising surface-level numbers. He carried only a 65 percent overall contact rate on his swings and tended to get overzealous to expand the zone against fastballs. That said, he did surprise by showing better impact at the plate, a continuation of a trend from college, and his swing can come with optimal angles that make some swing-and-miss easier to stomach.

Petersen is a plus runner who went 18-for-18 in steals attempts with Wilmington, though he didn’t push the envelope in the AFL. He could be an average defender in center field with that speed but would be above-average if he needs to land in a corner. Left field seems like his best fit due to subpar arm strength. Petersen’s potential as a fourth outfielder will be tested further with his first move to the upper Minors.

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 45 | Run: 60 | Arm: 45 | Field: 55 | Overall: 40

The Iowa rotation drew plenty of attention in recent years, especially for Brody Brecht, but Petersen stood out in his own right among the position-player group. An all-Big Ten selection in 2023, the outfielder got off to a strong start as a junior last year, hitting .333/.459/.571 with five homers and 17 steals in 33 games before stress reactions in both his shins ended his season in late April. The Nationals selected him in the eighth round, signed him for slot at $230,900 and got him seven games later in the summer with Single-A Fredericksburg.

Batting from the right side, Petersen can make for a kinetic at-bat as a constant waggler in the box. He improved his plate discipline over time in college, and he also made harder consistent contact. He slugged just .329 with wood bats in a trip to Cape Cod in 2023, and he struggled against velocity above 94 mph even with metal. There might just be enough power for 12-15 homers, and it was notable that, while he didn’t go deep with the FredNats, four of his eight hits went for extra bases in the small sample.

Petersen is a plus runner who has good baserunning instincts; he had a 90.9 percent success rate in steals in college and was 5-for-5 in the pros. Subpar arm strength pushed him primarily to left field with the Hawkeyes, and he might need to stay in a corner with superior defenders like Dylan Crews and Elijah Green options up the middle. With Petersen’s on-base ability and speed alone, he could fit nicely as a Major League fourth outfielder – a solid return for his Draft spot.

Awards

AFL Player of the Week

Week	Team
11/02/2025

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	03/05/2026	CF Sam Petersen assigned to Washington Nationals Prospects.
	02/21/2026	CF Sam Petersen assigned to Washington Nationals.
	02/21/2026	CF Sam Petersen roster status changed by Washington Nationals.
	09/10/2025	OF Sam Petersen assigned to Scottsdale Scorpions.
	06/05/2025	OF Sam Petersen assigned to Wilmington Blue Rocks from Fredericksburg Nationals.
	06/03/2025	Fredericksburg Nationals activated OF Sam Petersen from the 7-day injured list.
	05/19/2025	Fredericksburg Nationals sent OF Sam Petersen on a rehab assignment to FCL Nationals.
	05/19/2025	Fredericksburg Nationals sent OF Sam Petersen on a rehab assignment to FCL Nationals.
	05/03/2025	Fredericksburg Nationals sent OF Sam Petersen on a rehab assignment to FCL Nationals.
	05/03/2025	Fredericksburg Nationals sent OF Sam Petersen on a rehab assignment to FCL Nationals.
	04/02/2025	Fredericksburg Nationals placed OF Sam Petersen on the 7-day injured list.
	03/06/2025	activated CF Sam Petersen.
	03/05/2025	CF Sam Petersen assigned to Washington Nationals.
	03/05/2025	CF Sam Petersen roster status changed by Washington Nationals.
	08/31/2024	OF Sam Petersen assigned to Fredericksburg Nationals.
	08/31/2024	Fredericksburg Nationals activated OF Sam Petersen.
	07/22/2024	Washington Nationals signed OF Sam Petersen.
	06/16/2024	College Workout activated OF Sam Petersen.
	05/10/2024	OF Sam Petersen assigned to Iowa Hawkeyes.
	06/09/2023	Bourne Braves activated OF Sam Petersen.
	06/08/2023	OF Sam Petersen assigned to College Workout.
	02/06/2023	OF Sam Petersen assigned to Iowa Hawkeyes.
	04/04/2022	Kingsport Axmen activated OF Sam Petersen.
	04/04/2022	OF Sam Petersen assigned to Kingsport Axmen.
	06/18/2020	SS Sam Petersen assigned to PG National 12 - White.
	06/18/2020	SS Sam Petersen assigned to PG National 12 - White.