Baseball Prospectus Top-20 Prospects, Washington Nationals

[Hamyltowne]

(by Kevin Goldstein)

System In 20 Words Or Less: Thinned out by the Gio Gonzalez deal, but a strong 2011 draft has the potential to make up for it.

Five-Star Prospects:

1. Bryce Harper, OF
2. Anthony Rendon, 3B

Four-Star Prospects:

3. Matt Purke, LHP

Three-Star Prospects:

4. Brian Goodwin, OF
5. Alex Meyer, RHP
6. Destin Hood, OF
7. Michael Taylor, OF
8. Steve Lombardozzi, 2B
9. Robbie Ray, LHP
10. Sammy Solis, LHP

Two-Star Prospects:

11. Tyler Moore, 1B

Nine More:

12. Chris Marrero, 1B: Former first-rounder has put up solid numbers, but not enough for a first-base only player.

13. Eury Perez, OF: Speedster with line drive bat, but little in the way of secondary skills.

14. Zach Walters, SS: Good bat for a shortstop, but profiles better as a second baseman.

15. Taylor Jordan, RHP: Groundballer who throws strikes, but there are questions about ability to miss bats as he moves up.

16. Josh Smoker, LHP: Returned from bust status by touching 95 mph out of the bullpen; could move up with more strikes.

17. Jason Martinson, SS: Intriguing power/speed combination, but defense is lacking and might not ever hit for average.

18. Matt Skole, 3B: 2011 Fifth-round pick has plus bat and power potential; could move up after first full-season.

19. Sandy Leon, C: Will get to the big leagues on defensive chops alone, but bat screams backup.

20. David Freitas, C: Interesting catcher to watch due to on-base skills and developing power;
defense lags behind.

[Rafael122]

Rendon has been hurt but should be back in July, and Purke just went on the disabled list with shoulder stiffness. So basically those two are our top prospects. I like Marrero, he played some late last year but he got hurt. He doesn't hit for power though.

Gonna be an interesting year or two to see where the likes of Ray and Solis end up when they get called up.

[Hamyltowne]

It was written in March--spring training.

We just had the draft. The list needs to be updated. There should be a few college draftees that crack the top-20.