The Nationals Future Is Bright With 4 Of The Best Prospects In Baseball
The Washington Nationals are by no means the World Series favorites that they were anointed at this point last offseason but their MLB roster is still extremely competitive – with multiple Cy Young candidates front-lining their rotation, a revamped ‘pen, the reigning NL MVP, and a collection of controllable and skilled stars (like Anthony Rendon), the team isn’t hurting for talent. And the future looks just as bright for DC – the handful of years where we’ve got Scherzer, Strasburg, Lucas Giolito, Joe Ross and Reynaldo Lopez headlining our rotation and Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner,and an improved Michael A Taylor patrolling the field have the real potential to be magical. Strasburg should be costly to retain but, in the long run, he is certainly worth the cash and everyone else is under team control for several more seasons. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’ve got it good right now and the Nationals should and will be a playoff team in 2016 but the 2017, 2018, and 2019 rosters could be even better.
The Nationals have several minor leaguers who will make a palpable impact to the organization – whether it be through their own play or due to their trade value – and many of these prospects aren’t ranked among the top 100 in the game. Baseball America did just release their top prospect list so now would be a good time to pleasure myself to the team’s upcoming World Series parades. The Nationals had 4 total top 100 prospects which isn’t anything spectacular but three of their 4 ranked among the top 30 and notable absences from the list include Wilmer Difo, Pedro Severino, Erick Fedde, and AJ Cole.
Lucas Giolito is the top Nationals prospect, ranks 3rd best in all of baseball, and is regarded as the greatest pitching prospect in all of the minor leagues. We all know about Giolito, he’s filthy and will be an ace. I have no doubt, 0 doubt, that he will be an ace. In fact, I am so confident that Giolito will be a Cy Young contender for the Nationals within the next few years that I will shave my head completely bald for 6 months if he does not finish in the top 10 in the Cy Young voting once before he hits free agency – I have a good head of hair so I’m really counting on you here, Lucas. At this point I don’t even give a shit about his minor league stats and you shouldn’t either. All I care about is taht he strikes out a bunch of guys and doesn’t allow many runners to score + he has the talent to adapt to the Majors. Giolito should be in the Majors at some point in 2016 and, while I don’t know if calling him up prior to the middle of June would be worth it (The Nationals gain an extra year of control if he does not earn a full year of service time), I will welcome his inevitable call up very enthusiastically because this kid is the future and could eventually take the Nats to another level.
Trea Turner is ranked as the 8th best batter and 13th best 2016 prospect and he’s another guy that is destine to make a major impact soon. #TreaTime and Turner’s cup of tea didn’t go as anticipated but its tough to perform when practically every at bat comes from off the bench (don’t look at Dusty to give Turner a lot of PT in the early goings). Danny Espinosa may be the Nationals’ starting SS on February 1 but I wouldn’t be shocked if Turner is the opening day starter. And, I’d bet money that Trea Turner is the team’s starter for the playoffs – this isn’t a knock against Espinosa at all, I just think that Trea Turner will be a better option as soon as this season. Turner’s speed, defense, and hit-tool will all contribute to what could be various all-star appearances during his career.
I’ve been singing teenaged outfielder Victor Robles’ praises since before I was writing for Barstool, before I got fired by Nate, and before Nate re-hired me. Robles is a guy that you can really dream on. Baseball America concurs that Robles is a guy who oozes potential. The site gave Robles ‘plus plus’ potential ratings for his running ability, his arm, and his hit tool. Robles is still a long long way away but he could really develop into a true superstar – the sky is the limit for Robles.
Fourth on the list (at 75th overall) is Reynaldo Lopez. Lopez’s stock has fallen a bit since a year or two ago but he still has outstanding stuff and he’s still starting in the minors. If Lopez can continue to start and repeat his delivery, he has top-half-of-the-rotation ability. In a worst case scenario where Lopez isn’t effective as a starter, he could still develop into a very dominant high-leverage reliever. Lopez could debut for the Nationals this year as a September call-up out of the bullpen.
All in all, the Nationals have an enviable core of MLB players, a collection of high-minors impact-makers, and Victor Robles who could develop into a real superstar somewhere down the line.