Looking At The Nats 3 Top Prospects Who Will Keep Them In Contention For Years To Come
Keith Law of ESPN’s annual All-Star Break Top 50 Prospects update was released yesterday (insider subscription required and recommended) and 3 Nats prospects made the list. The Nats might not have a top 5 farm system but the top talent in Lucas Giolito, Trea Turner, and Joe Ross is rivaled by few teams in the game.
Luc Giolito, the right-handed pitcher who the team selected 16th overall in 2011 was ranked 3nd behind only LA Dodgers prospect SS Corey Seager and Phillies SS (and Carl Crawford’s cousin) JP Crawford. Giolito, who just celebrated his 21st birthday on July 14th, boasts some of the best stuff in the minor leagues and is by all accounts a future ace. He throws an elite high-90s fastball, an unhittable curveball, and an above-average changeup. Giolito is still in single-A but recent reports suggest the MLB Future’s Game starter for the USA will soon be promoted to AA. I wouldn’t be stunned if he is called up to the Majors in some capacity by September but, if not, expect him by June 2016. Keith Law stated: “If there’s a perfect pitching prospect out there, this is it.”
Giolito Stats 2015: 2.76 ERA and 76 ks in 58.2 IP (11.7k/9). He has walked just 2.3/9
Trea Turner, ranked 16th overall, has instantly developed into a household name for families throughout the DMV that pray to see Ian Desmond’s glove and bat burned at the stake. The 22 year old was acquired in Rizzo’s heist of 2015 where he traded (now) 26 year old Steven Souza and his .295 career on base for future All-Star SS Turner and Joe Ross (below). Rizzo must’ve had some nasty shit on the Rays and Padres because that trade is flat out unfair. Turner is sure-gloved as SS and should stick at the position throughout his career. He also has fleet feet and 17 steals in 2015. Turner’s hitting is more advanced than his power but a future of .290/.355 with 15 homers and 25 steals at shortstop seems very possible. Turner is near-MLB ready and has already played 16 games at AAA, some consider him a strong immediate alternative to Ian Desmond but we won’t get into that right now.
Advertisement
Turner Stats 2015: .318/.368/.472 with 7 homers, 30 total extra base hits, and 17 steals in AA and AAA
Joe Ross, also acquired in the Souza trade, is ranked as the 9th best pitching prospect and 28th overall. The athletic righty has a strong fastball but is still developing his slider and changeup. Ross, 22, already demonstrated uber success in 3 starts in the MLB earlier this year and is probably a better option in the rotation than someone like Doug Fister. Ross has absolutely dominated in his first year in the organization and should develop into a solid #2 starter behind Giolito.
MLB Stats 2015: 2.66 ERA and 23 Ks in 3 starts, 20.1 IP. He walked 2. Small Sample Size but his FIP, xFIP, and SiERA were all even lower than the 2.66 ERA Minor League Stats: 2.79 ERA and 66 K in 71 IP (8.4k/9). His bb/9 in the minors is 2.4
3 Prospects in a top 30 indicates an extremely strong farm system and, while many teams with top prospects are towards the bottom of the MLB standings, the Nationals have both the talent at the Major League level and talent waiting in the wings. A team headlined with Harper, Rendon, Turner, Scherzer, Strasburg, Zimmermann, Giolito, and Ross should win about 150 games a year.
I’m the new Nats writer on this site. Please follow and contact me on twitter at @NatsBarstool