The Marlins' system is in a much better spot than it was a year ago, and that's in large part due to pitching success at High A Jupiter, where Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera, and Trevor Rogers all took big steps forward. The acquisitions of Sixto Sanchez, Lewin Diaz, Jesus Sanchez, and Jazz Chisholm, plus the drafting of JJ Bleday, have been huge as well, and Sixto in particular leads the system as a potential true ace. Meanwhile, the position player group has been a really interesting one. Just since the end of the 2018 season, they have spent over $19 million to reel in five amateur hitters: Bleday ($6.67M), Victor Victor Mesa ($5.25M), Jose Salas ($2.8M), Nasim Nunez ($2.2M), and Kameron Misner ($2.12M). They'll really be leaning on those players to carry the system from a hitting perspective, because their aggressive approach of pushing young, raw hitters through the minors has likely hurt the development of highly regarded amateurs like Connor Scott and Will Banfield, the two of whom they spent nearly $6 million on in the 2018 draft.
Affiliates: AAA New Orleans Baby Cakes*, AA Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, High A Jupiter Hammerheads, Class A Clinton LumberKings, short season Batavia Muckdogs, complex level GCL and DSL Marlins
*AAA affiliate will move from New Orleans, LA to Wichita, KS in 2020
Catcher
- Will Banfield (2020 Age: 20): High school catchers are the riskiest demographic to draft from, but the Marlins had success in the past with J.T. Realmuto so they grabbed Atlanta-area high schooler Will Banfield in the competitive balance round in 2018 and pushed him aggressively to Class A in his pro debut. Personally, I don't think that was the best decision, and in 2019 he slashed just .199/.252/.310 with nine home runs and a 121/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 101 games at Class A Clinton. Banfield has good power in his right handed swing, but he struggled with swing and miss even in high school and his bat flat out wasn't ready for South Atlantic League pitching in his age-19 season. His glove, on the flip side, was, and his cannon arm means he should be an above average defensive catcher at the major league level. The bat will take patience, though, as he learns to find the strike zone and tap that power consistently, and that will probably take more time than the Marlins had hoped. He'll be just 20 for all of 2020, so if I were them, I'd have Banfield repeat Class A.
- Keep an eye on: Nick Fortes, Arquimedes Cumana
Corner Infield
- Lewin Diaz (2020 Age: 23): It's been a long time coming for Diaz, who signed with the Twins for $1.3 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2013, but 2019 was finally the breakout year everyone was waiting for. Despite being shipped to the Marlins midway through the season for Sergio Romo, he slashed .270/.321/.530 with 27 home runs and a 91/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 121 games between High A and AA. Diaz's power is very, very real, as he uses his 6'4" frame and explosive left handed swing to drive the ball to all fields. He's an aggressive hitter who usually does not get deep enough into the count to draw walks, but he also has very good feel for the barrel that helps him keep his strikeout rates very low for a power hitter. That gives him a very favorable outlook at the next level if he can get over that last hump, and he could hit 30+ home runs annually. Defensively, he's limited to first base, but the bat should profile there.
- Evan Edwards (2020 Age: 22-23): The Marlins took Edwards as an under slot senior sign in the fourth round out of NC State in 2019, but a successful pro debut means he might be more than just a money saver. In extensive action, he hit .281/.357/.442 with nine home runs and an 83/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 73 games, mostly at Class A Clinton, showing that the big raw power he had in college will play up in pro ball. He struck out in 25.7% of his plate appearances up at Clinton, which is a bit high, but I'd actually take that if I'm the Marlins. He has a long swing and there were questions as to how that would be exploited in pro ball, so high strikeout rates were already expected, and Class A is a fairly aggressive assignment for a player in his pro debut. The pressure will be on Edwards' bat to continue to produce, as he's a first baseman only, but I'm interested to see how he fares in a full season in 2020.
- Nic Ready (2020 Age: 23): You could say it's been a good year for Nic Ready. He put up a big senior year for the Air Force Academy in the spring, graduated and was personally congratulated by President Trump in May, then got drafted by the Marlins in the 23rd round in June. It didn't stop there, though, as he went on to slash .263/.311/.508 with ten home runs and an 82/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 67 games at short season Batavia, also smacking 30 doubles and a pair of triples. He has a long swing that led to an elevated strikeout rate in pro ball, but he is also adept at finding the barrel and can spray deep line drives all over the park with ease. He'll have to shorten up his swing to keep from being exploited by higher level pitching, but it's as good of a start as you can have and with his natural Air Force work ethic, he's a good bet to outplay his draft position.
- Keep an eye on: Joe Dunand, Lazaro Alonso
Middle Infield
- Jazz Chisholm (2020 Age: 22): Chisholm is part of the new wave of Bahamian talent hitting pro ball, and so far, he might already be the best player from the islands since Andre Rodgers of the 1960's Giants, Cubs, and Pirates. Originally a Diamondbacks prospect, he was shipped to Miami in 2019 for Zac Gallen during a season in which he slashed .220/.321/.441 with 21 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and a 147/52 strikeout to walk ratio over 112 games between the two AA affiliates. Despite standing just 5'11", he's an extra base machine with his explosive swing, which produces lots of hard contact to all fields. The end result is a lot of home run power and balls in the gaps, which he can leg out with his above average speed. The one thing holding Chisholm back offensively is his tendency to swing and miss, which is a product of his big swing. He does have the strike zone judgement to draw his share of walks, so he really needs to just focus on finding the barrel more and may need to tone down his big uppercut. He's also a good defensive shortstop, so he has the potential to impact the game on both sides of the ball. Whether he can make enough contact is really the only thing between him and a ceiling of 20-25 home runs with good on-base percentages.
- Jose Devers (2020 Age: 20): We might have all made up our minds about the Giancarlo Stanton trade, but Jose Devers, who had just turned 18 when he was shipped from New York to Miami as part of the return, means we'll have to wait a little longer. In 2019, he slashed .322/.391/.390 with eight stolen bases and a 26/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 47 games between Class A Clinton, High A Jupiter, and complex level rehab work despite missing time with groin and forearm issues. Devers is extremely advanced for his age, showing exceptional contact ability even against pitchers much older than himself, and it's a pretty safe bet that he'll be able to hit his way up to the majors. His swing is very contact-oriented and at a listed 155 pounds, he doesn't hit for a ton of impact, so the Marlins will want Devers to continue to add weight and grow into his 6' frame so he can eventually be a threat for lots of doubles and triples with his speed. He's a very good defender at shortstop and could be a Gold Glover if he's forced over to second base, taking pressure off his bat, and he'll play all of 2020 at just 20 years old.
- Nasim Nunez (2020 Age: 19): The Marlins drafted Nunez out of an Atlanta-area high school in the second round in 2019, then signed him to an over slot deal for $2.2 million. Personally, I think that's a lot to spend on a high schooler whose bat is almost completely unproven, but the Marlins will hope he takes a similar path to Jose Devers. In his pro debut, Nunez slashed .200/.327/.238 with 28 stolen bases and a 48/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 51 games in the complex level Gulf Coast League and at short season Batavia, showing no power whatsoever but also better plate discipline than expected. Nunez was drafted for his glove, and he might be the best defensive shortstop in the system, so there is very little pressure on the bat for the 5'9" switch hitter. That said, he still needs to hit a little, and while the high walk rate is a nice start, he's going to have to learn to drive the ball more and start to hit for some real impact, even if it's just doubles and triples power. He's a great runner who stole 28 bases in 30 tries in complex ball, so getting on base will be key if he wants to maximize his value.
- Jose Salas (2020 Age: 17): It will probably be a few years before we even know what kind of prospect Salas is, but the Marlins liked his upside enough that they signed him out of Venezuela for $2.8 million in 2019. Born in 2003, he won't even turn 17 until April, and it's the athleticism that the Marlins are buying more than anything else. He's fast, produces some good power from both sides of the plate, has a good approach, and is athletic if somewhat raw at shortstop. There's a lot to teach, but since they got him this young, the Marlins also hope there's a lot of room to grow.
- Keep an eye on: Gosuke Katoh, Bryson Brigman, Riley Mahan, Osiris Johnson
Outfield
- Jesus Sanchez (2020 Age: 22): Lewis Brinson is looking like a bust now 200+ games into his big league career, but fortunately, the Marlins do have a nice crop of young outfielders coming up the pipeline behind him. Jesus Sanchez, acquired from the Rays in the Nick Anderson trade at the 2019 deadline, might be the next to break into the majors after slashing .260/.325/.398 with 13 home runs and a 100/39 strikeout to walk ratio over 113 games between AA and AAA this year. Big and strong at 6'3", he's more concerned with just spraying line drives around and making consistent hard contact, but it might do him good to start lifting the ball just a little bit more to tap his above average raw power. He's a very competent hitter that has no problem finding the barrel, even against advanced pitching, and if he tries to tap that power a little more, he could hit 15-20 or more home runs annually with good on-base percentages. He also profiles well in right field with sound defense and a good arm.
- Monte Harrison (2020 Age: 24-25): I see a lot of shades of Lewis Brinson here. Harrison, who is just over a year younger, is also a 6'3" right handed hitter with tools all over the place who hasn't quite put it together yet. Drafted in the second round out of a Kansas City-area high school way back in 2014, Harrison hit .270/.351/.441 with nine home runs, 23 stolen bases, and a 74/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 58 games in 2019, mostly at AAA New Orleans with a brief rehab stint at High A Jupiter. He generates a lot of power from an explosive right handed swing, though with that power comes a lot of swing and miss, and in fact, his 215 strikeouts in 2018 led the minor leagues that year. He's managed to cut his strikeout rate just a bit in 2019, but in order to get over the hump in the majors, there will be more work to do. Fortunately, Harrison has a lot of other traits to like, including his plus speed and exceptional arm strength from the outfield. He's very close to major league ready, and despite turning 25 next season, he maintains a high ceiling if he can figure out how to put the last few pieces together.
- JJ Bleday (2020 Age: 22): Bleday had a huge breakout junior season at Vanderbilt, where he led Division I baseball with 27 home runs despite facing the gauntlet of SEC pitching, and he rode that to being drafted fourth overall by the Marlins in 2019. Aggressively pushed to High A Jupiter to start his career, he started slow but heated up as he got his footing, finishing with a .257/.311/.379 slash line, three home runs, and a 29/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 38 games. Bleday is pretty much as close as you'll find to a complete hitter straight out of college, as he combines tremendous feel for the barrel with great raw power to hit lots and lots of home runs against advanced pitching. Defensively, he's more or less average in right field, but his strong arm helps him provide at least some value out there. He should move quickly and, with a little luck, he could be in the big leagues at some point in 2020. His ceiling is 35-40 home runs annually with good on-base percentages – i.e., a true middle of the order hitter.
- Victor Victor Mesa (2020 Age: 23-24): Mesa was one of the most hyped international prospects this year after defecting from Cuba, and he and his younger brother Victor signed with the Marlins shortly thereafter, the elder brother getting a whopping $5.25 million. Unfortunately, his pro career hasn't gone as planned so far, as he hit just .235/.274/.263 with 18 stolen bases and a 64/22 strikeout to walk ratio over 116 games at High A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville. He didn't have much of a problem making contact against quality pitching, but the problem was that he rarely found the barrel and was more likely to roll over a ground ball or pop up than he was to really drive one. He'll need to take a step back and really work on his pitch recognition and hand eye coordination, because even though he put up slap hitter numbers, he doesn't have a slap hitter swing. At this point, he probably looks like more of a fourth outfielder, but he's also just 116 games into his pro career and he has a chance to show that 2019 was just growing pains, not his true talent level. He is exceptional in the outfield with speed, instincts, and a great arm, and that (plus the signing bonus) buys the bat a lot of time.
- Kameron Misner (2020 Age: 22): Misner had an enigmatic career at Missouri, hitting really, really well most of the time until slumping hard in SEC play in his junior year. He had previously positioned himself to potentially go somewhere in the top half of the first round, but the SEC skid dropped him to the competitive balance round, where the Marlins picked him up with the 35th pick in 2019. In his pro debut, he hit .270/.388/.362 with a pair of home runs, eleven stolen bases, and a 42/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 42 games between the complex level Gulf Coast League and Class A Clinton, which was at least a nice sign in a small sample even if he didn't hit for much power. Misner is a tooled up prospect who really looks like a ballplayer at 6'4" with good power, speed, and defense. He was able to get to that power consistently against weaker non-conference opponents in both 2018 and 2019, but a broken foot kept him out of SEC play in 2018 and he had that slump in 2019, so he came into the draft completely unproven against higher level pitching. He did a good job of keeping that strike zone at least reasonably down in pro ball and he drew a lot of walks, and if he can pull it together by finding his power stroke in 2020, this could look like a steal for Miami with Misner's upside of 25-30 home runs annually with plenty of stolen bases and good defense.
- Connor Scott (2020 Age: 20): Miami drafted Scott in the middle of the first round out of a Tampa high school in 2018, though he hasn't quite figured it out in pro ball as the Marlins have pushed him aggressively. In 2019, he slashed .248/.310/.359 with five home runs, 23 stolen bases, and a 117/42 strikeout to walk ratio over 122 games at Class A Clinton and High A Jupiter as his baseball skills haven't quite caught up to his physical tools. Long and lanky at 6'4", he's more of a line drive hitter that relies on his good feel for the barrel to hit for impact at the plate, at least for now. There may be some power to tap into as he adds strength and leverage in his swing, but it hasn't shown up yet and I don't think the Marlins aggressively pushing him to High A as a teenager is going to help. Meanwhile, he's a great athlete with a ton of speed and a strong arm that could make him a plus defensive center fielder in time, and it's already helping him steal bases. The glove and high draft position will by the bat time, and he remains a breakout candidate even after the so-so 2019.
- Peyton Burdick (2020 Age: 23): Burdick absolutely mashed as a Wright State redshirt junior in 2019, slashing an unbelievable .407/.538/.729 against the Raiders' relatively weak Horizon League schedule, and the Marlins picked him up in the third round with hopes that he could make the leap up to pro ball and continue hitting for impact. As it turns out, he could, and his exceptional pro debut saw him slash .308/.407/.542 with eleven home runs and a 72/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 69 games, mostly at Class A Clinton. Burdick turns 23 right at the start of spring training, so he's not exactly the youngest prospect around, but he's extremely well everywhere he's gone and it wouldn't be smart to bet against his bat. He generates above average raw power with great feel for the barrel from the right side, and while he'll probably have a good amount of swing and miss at first while he transitions up from Horizon League pitching, he should cut it down reasonably going forward. To me, he looks like a 20-25 homer bat with decent on-base percentages, which would be enough to start in left field if he can get there.
- Victor Mesa Jr. (2020 Age: 18): Victor Mesa Jr. joined his older brother Victor Victor Mesa in defecting from Cuba last year, and while Victor Victor got $5.25 million, the younger Victor Jr. landed a nice $1 million bonus from the same Marlins. And while Victor Victor disappointed in his pro debut, Victor Jr. actually exceeded expectations, slashing .284/.366/.398 with a home run, seven stolen bases, and a 29/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 47 games in the complex level Gulf Coast League. He's not too dissimilar of a hitter from Jose Devers in that he has great feel for the barrel and the strike zone at a very young age, and while he doesn't hit for much power at present, he has enough athleticism and strength to eventually hit for average power despite standing just 5'11". He will play all of 2020 at just 18 years old, and with the way the Marlins like to push their young prospects, he could be in the majors at a very young age if he keeps hitting the way he's hitting and adds some power. However, unlike his brother, his defense plays closer to average, so his bat will have to carry him up.
- Keep an eye on: Brian Miller, Stone Garrett, Tristan Pompey, Jerar Encarnacion, J.D. Orr
Starting Pitching
- Sixto Sanchez (2020 Age: 21-22): Sixto was part of the return for J.T. Realmuto last offseason, and few minor league pitchers have a higher ceiling than he does. In his first season in the Marlins system, he posted a 2.76 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 103/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 114 innings at High A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville, starting a bit slow but finishing strong with a 0.90 ERA and a 35/6 strikeout to walk ratio in 40.1 innings over his final seven starts. Sixto is truly an elite talent, combining plus stuff with plus command in a way that very few other pitchers can. His fastball sits in the mid to upper 90's, touching 100, and he can put some sink on it when he wants to to get lots of ground ball outs. His curve is a hammer and his changeup misses bats as well, and since he can put them where he wants them, they all play up. Unfortunately, the one downside in Sanchez's profile is health – at six feet tall, he's a bit undersized, and he missed time with elbow problems in 2018. He set a career high with 114 innings in 2019, which is both good news and bad news in that he proved he was healthy after those elbow problems but also bad news in that he'd never even topped 95 innings before. If Sixto can get past those durability concerns, he has true ace potential, and I think he'll post great numbers no matter what, just perhaps in smaller samples if he ends up breaking down.
- Sterling Sharp (2020 Age: 24-25): The Nationals kind of surprisingly left Sharp unprotected for the Rule 5 Draft, and the Marlins scooped him up with the third pick a few weeks ago. That means after posting a 3.53 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a 52/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 58.2 innings between AA and some lower level rehab work, Sharp will have to spend the entire season on the Marlins' active major league roster or else they'll have to send him back. Sharp should have very little trouble sticking in the majors, as he's a very advanced arm who stands out for his athleticism, control, and ability to sink his low 90's fastball for consistent ground ball outs. He also adds a decent slider and a good changeup, an overall average arsenal that the Marlins will hope plays up due to his feel for pitching. Overall, it's a #4 starter projection, though he'll likely pitch in the bullpen in 2020.
- Nick Neidert (2020 Age: 23): Neidert, a Mariners second rounder out of an Atlanta-area high school in 2015, has worked his way up slowly but with good numbers along the way, though a knee injury slowed him down in 2019. Overall, he had a 4.67 ERA, a 1.56 WHIP, and a 46/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 54 innings between High A Jupiter, AAA New Orleans, and complex level rehab work, the first time he'd ever had an ERA above 3.45 or a WHIP above 1.17. Acquired from Seattle as part of the return for Dee Gordon in 2017, Neidert is perhaps the most advanced pitcher in the system after from Sixto Sanchez, as he makes solid stuff play up great command and overall feel for mixing his pitches. He throws a lot to mid 90's fastball, adds a decent curve that stands out more for his ability to locate it than its actual movement, and gets most of his outs with a great changeup. His command wasn't quite as sharp in 2019 after the knee injury, and that exposed his overall arsenal a bit, so getting back to that plus command will help him become a #4 or #5 starter in the very near future.
- Braxton Garrett (2020 Age: 22-23): The Marlins picked up Garrett with the seventh overall pick in the 2016 draft out of a Northern Alabama high school, but he went down with Tommy John surgery just four starts into his pro career and missed most of 2017 and all of 2018. Returning in 2019, almost three years after he was drafted, he didn't miss a beat and posted a 3.54 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a 119/40 strikeout to walk ratio over 106.2 innings, mostly at High A Jupiter with one rough start at AA Jacksonville. Garrett is a very balanced pitcher with good stuff and good command, though aside from a great curveball that functions as his out pitch, nothing stands out as plus. He sits in the low 90's and adds an advanced changeup, and while his command was a bit spotty in 2019, he had a very good feel for the strike zone in high school and he should regain that feel as he gets farther away from all that time off. Garrett has the ceiling of a #2 or a #3 starter, though that is contingent of him getting back to hitting his spots and filling up the strike zone, and a very good chance of becoming at least a #4.
- Edward Cabrera (2020 Age: 22): Perhaps the biggest breakout star in the system, Cabrera was a little known prospect until a solid 2018 at Class A (4.22 ERA, 93/42 K/BB) at least put him on the map. Then in 2019, the Dominican prospect posted a 2.23 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and a 116/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 96.2 innings at High A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville. He sits in the mid 90's with his running fastball, which is his best pitch, and he took a step forward in 2019 because he got more consistent with his command of the pitch. His slider is coming along as he continues to refine the pitch, and his changeup has come along as well. The next steps will be to just continue to refine and refine, and he'll need to prove his durability as well with a career high of just 100.1 innings in 2018. Still, with a little more refinement, his fastball should be enough to lead the way for a career as a #3 or #4 starter.
- Trevor Rogers (2020 Age: 22): It took Rogers a bit to find his footing in pro ball, as he didn't pitch in 2017 after being drafted in the middle of the first round out of a New Mexico high school, then struggled to a 5.82 ERA and an 85/27 strikeout to walk ratio in Class A in 2018. However, he figured it out in 2019, posting a 2.90 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 150/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 136.1 innings at High A Jupiter and AA Jacksonville, the biggest difference, like Cabrera, being taking a big step forward with his command. He's a 6'6" lefty that sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, and that velocity comes pretty easily as he doesn't throw with much effort. The rest of his arsenal is beginning to take shape with a curveball, a slider/cutter, and a changeup, which are all better than when he was drafted but which still need more refinement. With his command now safely above average, the Marlins can have him focus on those secondary pitches and hopefully reach his ceiling as a mid-rotation starter.
- Humberto Mejia (2020 Age: 23): Mejia was never a top prospect, and that's why he's moved very slowly through the system since signing for $50,000 out of Panama in 2013, but he's also performed very well at every stop and has yet to really be challenged. In 2019, he finally reached full season ball and posted a 2.09 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and an 89/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 90.1 innings at Class A Clinton and High A Jupiter. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball from a projectable 6'3" frame, and he can get outs with his curve and his changeup because he commands them well. The overall package is pretty average, but he's passed every test the Marlins have given him, so it will be interesting to see how he potentially handles the upper minors in 2020, which will be his age-23 season. If it clicks, he could be a #4 starter.
- Evan Fitterer (2020 Age: 19-20): Despite turning 19 shortly after the 2019 draft, the Marlins took Fitterer in the fifth round out of his Southern California high school then signed him to an over slot $1.5 million deal. Fitterer then posted a 2.38 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and a 19/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 22.2 innings in the complex level Gulf Coast League, nothing that really changes his outlook. He's a balanced pitcher for his age, one who sits in the low 90's with his fastball, adds a pair of breaking balls that both look good at times, and a changeup that's pretty advanced for a high school pitcher. He usually commands all four pitches pretty well, and with a projectable 6'3" frame, he has all the building blocks in place for the Marlins to work with. Going forward, he'll just need to get more consistent with everything and continue to learn himself as a pitcher. High ceiling, low floor, and a lot of time to figure it out.
- Keep an eye on: Robert Dugger, Cody Poteet, Daniel Castano, Will Stewart, Delvis Alegre
Relief Pitching
- Jorge Guzman (2020 Age: 24): The Dominican flamethrower has already been traded twice, once from Houston to New York in the Brian McCann deal of 2016 and then, more notably, as the prospect with the highest upside in the Giancarlo Stanton trade a year later. In 2019, Guzman posted a 3.50 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and a 127/71 strikeout to walk ratio over 138.2 innings at AA Jacksonville, which was just enough to remain in the rotation for now but not enough to add any more confidence that he won't eventually end up in the bullpen. With multiple starting pitching prospects taking a big step forward at High A in 2019 and the acquisition of Sterling Sharp, Guzman will probably end up the odd man out when looking for a rotation spot, but he could be a real force in the bullpen. He sits consistently in the mid to upper 90's with his fastball, and his short arm action makes it really difficult to pick the ball up out of his hand. His slider stands out more for its mid to upper 80's velocity than for its movement, and his changeup has some nice fade, but his inability to throw strikes has kept him from putting it all together as a starter. Set to play in his age-24 season, the command probably won't ever get close to average, so at this point he's probably best off running his fastball up to 100 in the bullpen while missing bats with that hard slider. He could be up in 2020 if the Marlins go that route.
- Jordan Holloway (2020 Age: 23-24): A 20th round draft pick out of a Denver-area high school in 2014, Holloway probably finds himself in about the same spot as Guzman after posting a 4.45 ERA, a 1.51 WHIP, and a 93/66 strikeout to walk ratio over 95 innings at High A Jupiter. While he's still a starter, many of his teammates took steps forward that he couldn't match, and his two plus pitches likely fit better in a relief role at this point. Like Guzman, he sits in the mid to upper 90's with his fastball, though his breaking ball of choice is a curveball with really nice two-plane movement. Though he has a relatively easy delivery with a quick arm like Guzman's, he also struggles to throw strikes, and that has made his stuff play down. As a fastball/curveball reliever, he could work his way up and become a 7th or 8th inning guy.
- Sean Guenther (2020 Age: 24): The Marlins picked up Guenther as a strike throwing seventh rounder out of Notre Dame in 2017, but his average stuff wasn't quite enough to cut it as a starter in pro ball, so the organization bumped him to the bullpen in 2019 and the early returns are great. Often used for multiple innings at a time, the 5'11" lefty posted a 2.02 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and a 72/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 71.1 innings at Class A Clinton and High A Jupiter, using a high overhand delivery to get some added deception on his pitches. His fastball has bumped up into the low 90's, and while he used two breaking balls as a starter, I was unable to find if he's focused on one as a reliever but I'd have to guess he has. His plus command makes everything play up, and he could work his way up as a middle reliever.
- Keep an eye on: Tommy Eveld, Colton Hock, Jeff Lindgren
Showing posts with label Sterling Sharp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sterling Sharp. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Sunday, December 8, 2019
2020 Prospect Depth Chart: Washington Nationals
As a Nationals fan, I went a little deeper with this one, though the Nationals' system is lacking in terms of impact talent. Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia are just about the only two impact prospects on the offensive side, while Jackson Rutledge and Tim Cate are the only blue chippers on the pitching side. When it comes to hitting, the Nationals are extremely shallow behind Kieboom and Garcia, as they've got virtually nothing in the outfield and Drew Mendoza still has a lot to prove. They're a little deeper on the mound, as Wil Crowe, Seth Romero, Mason Denaburg, Matt Cronin, and Andry Lara all offer something in their own right, but Crowe lacks much of a ceiling and the other four have a lot to prove. However, if Kieboom pans out like he should, I think Nationals fans will be happy.
Affiliates: AAA Fresno Grizzlies, AA Harrisburg Senators, High A Potomac Nationals*, Class A Hagerstown Suns, short season Auburn Doubledays, complex level GCL and DSL Nationals
*High A affiliate will move from Woodbridge, VA to Fredericksburg, VA in 2020
Catcher
- Raudy Read (2020 Age: 26): With the Nationals going with a Kurt Suzuki/Yan Gomes combination behind the plate for a second straight season, Read's best path to playing time will be if someone gets hurt. That said, he had a nice season in the minors this year, slashing .275/.317/.546 with 20 home runs and a 58/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 82 games at AAA Fresno, and he's also slashed .182/.182/.182 in 14 major league games. Read has some power and has shown some moderate ability to get to it, though he doesn't draw many walks and figures to be a low on-base percentage guy at the major league level. Though he's a good defender behind the plate, I doubt he ever takes over as a starter, but he should fit in nicely as a back-up at some point, either in DC or elsewhere.
- Tres Barrera (2020 Age: 25): A sixth round pick out of Texas in 2016, Barrera has moved slowly through the minors and in 2019, he slashed .249/.323/.381 with eight home runs and a 69/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 101 games at AA Harrisburg, also picking up two hitless major league at bats. He's a great defender who earned his way up to the majors with his glove, though his bat is a bit light to ever start at the major league level. Barrera and Read will probably compete for the third string role as long as Suzuki and Gomes are around, with Read showing a slightly better bat and Barrera showing a slightly better glove. I'd probably rather use Barrera due to the better glove.
- Israel Pineda (2020 Age: 20): Pineda hasn't quite gotten it going with the bat yet, but he's easily the best young catcher in the system. In 2019, he slashed .217/.278/.305 with seven home runs and a 102/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 101 games at Class A Hagerstown, though he only turned 19 at the start of the season. He'll probably end up as more of a back-up catcher, but he's a very competent player at a young age and that's what you like to see in a catcher. Hopefully it clicks for him in High A in 2020 and he moves towards his ceiling of a 10-15 homer, medium on-base catcher.
- Keep an eye on: Taylor Gushue, Jakson Reetz
Corner Infield
- Jake Noll (2020 Age: 26): Nationals fans may remember Noll as the relatively unknown prospect who looks like Ryan Zimmerman and cracked the Opening Day roster before going back down to the minors and not being heard from again aside from a brief call-up in May. Noll slashed .167/.231/.250 over those eight major league games, but spent the majority of 2019 at AAA Fresno, where he slashed .285/.327/.410 with eleven home runs and an 89/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 118 games in a hitter-friendly environment. He's played all over the diamond in his pro career with significant time at first, second, and third base, and he'll compete with Wilmer Difo for a utility infielder role in 2020. A seventh round pick out of Florida Gulf Coast in 2016, Noll is a very competent hitter who has shown moderate power while being a very tough out at the plate, and he should be very useful on both sides of the ball at the major league level, though I doubt he ever starts full time.
- Drew Mendoza (2020 Age: 22): Mendoza was borderline first rounder as a high schooler in the Orlando area, but he elected to attend Florida State instead and emerged as a third round pick in 2019. In his pro debut, he slashed .264/.377/.383 with four home runs and a 57/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games in an aggressive assignment at Class A Hagerstown, and he remains just a bit enigmatic as a prospect. A big guy at 6'5" and 230 pounds, he can really drive the ball with authority, though that power comes more from sheer strength than from bat speed or a particularly explosive swing, so it's not completely known how his power will translate over with wood bats. He only hit four home runs in 55 games in his pro debut, but most collegiate picks don't go straight to Class A in their draft year, so 2020 will be more illuminating. There is swing and miss in his game, which he pairs with a patient approach that helps him draw plenty of walks, and that may also impact his power production if he doesn't make enough contact. He'll have to hit as a first baseman, though the upside here is pretty good as a guy who can crack 25-30 home runs a year with walk-driven on-base percentages in the .350 range.
- Gilbert Lara (2020 Age: 22): Lara was an extremely highly regarded amateur out of the Dominican Republic, and he signed for $3.1 million back in 2014. Traded to the Natioanls with KJ Harrison for Gio Gonzalez in 2018, he started to pick it up with the bat just a little in 2019. This year, he slashed .242/.280/.375 with 13 home runs and a 123/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 133 games at Class A Hagerstown and High A Potomac, though the strike zone got away from him a bit at the higher level. He's got some power in his 6'4" frame and can get to it with an explosive swing, but the swing can get long and he hasn't shown the ability to tap into it consistently at any point. Defensively, he's strong at third base, which buys his bat time to develop, and he projects as somewhat of a utility infielder/back-up third baseman with some pop down the line. Hopefully he can shorten his swing a bit and be more than that though.
- Keep an eye on: KJ Harrison, Aldrem Corredor, Leandro Emiliani
Middle Infield
- Carter Kieboom (2020 Age: 22): This is the name Nationals fans keep hearing. While he's not the same caliber of a prospect that Juan Soto and Victor Robles were, the hope here is that Kieboom can give the Nationals a third NL ROY-caliber position player in as many years. A first round pick out of high school in the Atlanta area in 2016, Kieboom slashed .303/.409/.493 with 16 home runs and a 100/68 strikeout to walk ratio over 109 games at hitter-friendly AAA Fresno in 2019, also slashing .128/.209/.282 with a pair of home runs in an eleven game cup of coffee at the major league level. He's a very talented hitter with great feel for the barrel that enables his slightly above average raw power to play up in games, somewhat like Anthony Rendon in that regard. He's also patient and draws his share of walks, and it's easy to envision him hitting 20 home runs per season with high on-base percentages. He's also a decent defender at shortstop who should be above average at second or third base, adding to his value, though he's expected to play more second base early on with Trea Turner holding down shortstop and one of Rendon or Josh Donaldson likely to man third base in 2020. The biggest blemish on Kieboom's strong profile was his brief MLB debut, where he clearly did not look ready (can you blame him, he was 21) and the game just seemed to speed up on him. A little more seasoning should help, and I expect him to be a real contributor in 2020, with his ultimate projection being something similar to early-career Rendon.
- Luis Garcia (2020 Age: 19-20): This is an interesting prospect. Garcia was signed for $1.3 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, hit well in an aggressive assignment to the complex-level Gulf Coast League in 2017, reached High A shortly after his 18th birthday in 2018 as the youngest player in the league, then reached AA before he even turned 19 in 2019. That was his first real speed bump, as he slashed just .257/.280/.337 with four home runs, eleven stolen bases, and an 86/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 129 games, but he did play well in the Eastern League playoffs with six hits in fifteen at bats (.400 AVG) and five walks to just one strikeout. He's an extremely advanced hitter for his age, as he makes very consistent contact and isn't fooled by advanced pitching. He was just a bit overmatched at Harrisburg this year, and he lacked much impact at the plate, so he won't be major league ready at the outset of 2020, but he has the chance to post good on-base percentages and hit ten or so home runs per season at the major league level. Defensively, he's strong at shortstop but might fit better at second base in the long run.
- Cole Freeman (2020 Age: 25): A fourth round pick as a senior out of LSU in 2017, Freeman slashed an unremarkable .266/.354/.371 line in Class A in 2018 but broke out in 2019, slashing .311/.394/.404 with three home runs, 31 stolen bases, and a 60/53 strikeout to walk ratio over 123 games at High A Potomac. He has some of the best plate discipline in the system, rarely swinging and missing and also drawing a healthy amount of walks. While he's nowhere near a power hitter, he doesn't completely lack impact at the plate and can drive the ball to the gaps and use his speed to pick up doubles and triples. He's a bit of an older prospect due to being drafted as a college senior, as he turned 25 in September and has yet to reach AA, but he has a ceiling as an effective super-utility type who can play second base, center field, and left field with his speed but mediocre arm.
- Yasel Antuna (2020 Age: 20): The Nationals had three big middle infield signings in the 2016-2017 international signing period, and while Luis Garcia has blossomed into one of the best prospects in the system, Jose Sanchez and Yasel Antuna have yet to get things going. Antuna, who signed for the largest bonus of the group at $3.9 million, slashed just .220/.293/.331 as an 18 year old at Class A in 2018 but missed all but three games in 2019 with Tommy John surgery. He's extremely talented, showing some power from both sides of the plate with an explosive bat, and he controls the zone well for someone his age. Defensively, he's a shortstop for now and has the tools to stick there, but it he's still a work in progress there and the Tommy John surgery doesn't help. Because he'll spend the entire 2020 season at 20 years old, he's young enough to absorb this lost season and stay on schedule with his development, but for now he's all projection and no track record.
- Viandel Pena (2020 Age: 19): There's not much publicly available information on Pena, but he's certainly interesting. Listed at just 5'8" and 148 pounds, he might be the smallest guy in the system, but that didn't stop him from slashing .359/.455/.481 with six stolen bases and a 31/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 37 games in the complex level Gulf Coast League as an 18 year old. Pena is a patient hitter with great knowledge of the strike zone for his age, and while he swings and misses just a bit more than you'd hope for a slap hitter, he has the ceiling of a leadoff-type second baseman if he fills out and develops some impact at the plate. Of course, he'll likely never hit for much power at all, so he's more likely to end up a utility infielder.
- Keep an eye on: Jackson Cluff, J.T. Arruda, Jose Sanchez, Viandel Pena
Outfield
- Nick Banks (2020 Age: 25): Banks was considered a potential first round pick at Texas A&M, but a nagging back injury hurt his numbers as a junior and he fell to the fourth round in 2016. He's come along slowly for a college player but his numbers have steadily improved, and in 2019 he slashed .278/.338/.431 with ten home runs and a 95/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 114 games at High A Potomac and AA Harrisburg. Banks is a relatively average player all around, but he's gotten better with every promotion and he uses a short, simple swing to drive the ball with authority regularly. In most systems he'd probably fade into the crowd, but the Nationals are so shallow in minor league outfielders that he has a shot to be a useful fourth outfielder in the near future.
- Gage Canning (2020 Age: 23): Canning was a fifth round pick out of Arizona State in 2018, and he finished his first full season with a .239/.308/.341 slash line, four home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a 127/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 111 games. Aside from his speed, he doesn't really stand out for anything on the field, but he plays hard and he gets the most of what he has. He has good feel for the barrel and likes to drive doubles and triples into the gap, and though he's only listed at 5'10" and 175 pounds, he might be able to develop some moderate over the fence power. He's an aggressive hitter who doesn't draw a lot of walks, so his ultimate projection is that as a speedy fourth outfielder.
- Jeremy De La Rosa (2020 Age: 18): The Nationals signed De La Rosa for $300,000 in 2018 and skipped him straight to the complex level Gulf Coast League to begin his pro career in 2019, where he slashed .232/.343/.366 with two home runs and a 29/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 26 games. For now, he mostly stands out for his feel for the game at such a young age, and he'll spend all of 2020 at just 18 years old with the chance to hit his way up to full season ball. He might not have the high, high ceiling of some of his fellow international signees, but he sticks out in a system very short in outfield depth. It's hard to project these kids at 17 and 18 years old, but he figures to post high on-base percentages with 15 or so home runs per season at the major league level, at least for now.
- Keep an eye on: Yadiel Hernandez, Telmito Augustin, Rhett Wiseman, Jacob Rhinesmith, Justin Connell, Jeremy Ydens
Starting Pitching
- Wil Crowe (2020 Age: 25): Recent top Nationals pitching prospects to reach the majors like Joe Ross, Erick Fedde, and Austin Voth have had varying levels of success, though none have really caught on in a significant way. Wil Crowe hopes to be the next in line to try to stick in the rotation, on the heels of a 4.70 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and a 130/48 strikeout to walk ratio over 149.1 innings at AA Harrisburg and AAA Fresno. His numbers were much better at the lower level (3.87 ERA, 89/22 K/BB) than with the juiced balls at the higher level (6.17 ERA, 41/26 K/BB), hinting that he may not be 100% ready, but he's risen rapidly through the minors since being drafted in the second round out of South Carolina in 2017. At a listed 6'2" and 240 pounds, he's a big, durable pitcher armed with a low 90's fastball, a slider, a curve, and a changeup, none of which are true out pitches, but they're all effective and he commands and mixes them fairly well. He definitely passes the eye test of a #4 or so big league starter, one who can eat inning and give consistent, quality starts.
- Tim Cate (2020 Age: 22): Crowe may have to establish himself quickly, because a year after taking Crowe out of South Carolina in the second round, the Nationals spent their second round pick on Tim Cate from Connecticut. Cate had a big first full season in 2019, posting a 3.07 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 139/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 143.2 innings at Class A Hagerstown and High A Potomac. The biggest thing for Cate in 2019 was going to be proving he was healthy after missing time during his junior season with forearm problems, and not only did he do that, he took it a step forward and proved he can start in pro ball. He's a 6' lefty that sits in the low 90's with his fastball, but he adds a plus-plus, swing and miss power curveball that can help him rack up the strikeouts all on its own. His command also took a step forward, and the hope is that he can continue on his current development path and become a #3 starter for the Nationals. In my opinion, he's the second best pitching prospect in the system after Jackson Rutledge.
- Sterling Sharp (2020 Age: 24-25): A 22nd round pick out of Drury University in 2016, Sharp has slowly pitched his way into the Nationals' rotation of the future. In 2019, he posted a 3.53 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a 52/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 58.2 innings between AA Harrisburg and some lower level rehab work, though he missed a chunk of the season with oblique issues. Sharp might have the heaviest fastball in the Nationals' system, sitting in the low 90's and keeping the ball on the ground as consistently as anyone in minor league baseball. His best secondary pitch is his changeup, which dives away from left handed hitters, though his slider lacks sharpness and is probably the last hurdle he needs to clear to become a major league starter. His command is above average and his great athleticism on the mound helps him in a variety of ways, and if he can stay healthy and sharpen that slider, he could be a #3 or #4 starter. If not, he could still end up a #5, or be a long reliever.
- Jackson Rutledge (2020 Age: 21): Rutledge was considered a good draft prospect out of high school in St. Louis in 2017, but he instead attended Arkansas, got hurt, and transferred to San Jacinto Community College in Houston, where he jumped from a could-be to a legit star. After the Nationals took him in the first round in 2019, he posted a 3.13 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and a 39/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 37.1 innings across three levels in his debut, reaching Class A Hagerstown at the end. Rutledge is a huge guy who stands 6'8" and sits consistently in the mid 90's with his fastball, adding a pair of distinct, swing and miss breaking balls in a curveball and a slider. That all alone gives him true ace potential, though he does have a couple of drawbacks. His control is solid but probably plays a tick below average for now, and his changeup is mediocre. Rutledge clearly has the stuff to start, and on top of the command and changeup, he'll have to a) prove he can stay healthy after missing much of 2018, and b) get just a bit more consistent with his whole game. There is work to do on Rutledge but he is already well on his way towards being an impact starting pitcher, and that's why the Nationals spent $3.45 million on him at 17th overall.
- Steven Fuentes (2020 Age: 22-23): Moved to the rotation in 2019, Fuentes took a huge step forward, posting a 2.23 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and a 89/22 strikeout to walk ratio in 80.2 innings at High A Potomac and AA Harrisburg. However, he got suspended in July for using PED's, and we haven't sen him pitch since. He only sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a solid slider, but he gets outs with his changeup and good command that helped him maneuver advanced lineups. We obviously have to see how he returns from the suspension, but he has the chance to be a back-end starter or a good reliever.
- Seth Romero (2020 Age: 24): Pitch for pitch, Seth Romero has probably had as much media coverage as anybody from his draft class. A standout at Houston, he put himself in position to go in the top ten picks but turned out to be, for lack of a better word, a total jackass, and multiple off-field incidents got him suspended then kicked off of the school's baseball team. The Nationals took the risk anyways in the back of the first round, but he got sent home in 2018 for continuing to be a jackass and only made seven starts at Class A Hagerstown (3.91 ERA, 34/8 K/BB). Apparently he began to turn the corner maturity-wise, but he went down with Tommy John surgery and missed the 2019 season. So here we are in the 2019-2020 offseason, a few months shy of his 24th birthday, and he's thrown 47.1 professional innings. When he's on the mound, there is zero question about his talent – he sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, adds a swing and miss slider and a solid changeup, and commands everything well. That all points to a future as a potential #2 or #3 starter if he can stay on the mound, but we'll have to see if he's decided he actually wants to be a professional pitcher.
- Joan Adon (2020 Age: 21-22): Adon was a reliever up until 2019, when the Nationals transitioned him to the rotation and the results were very good; he had a 3.86 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a 90/44 strikeout to walk ratio over 105 innings at Class A Hagerstown. He can sit in the mid 90's with his power fastball, even out of the rotation, and he adds a good slider and a developing changeup with decent command. That's a great relief profile, but the Nationals like his upside in the rotation and he's athletic enough that if they can get his command to take a step forward, he could be an impact starting pitcher. He's very unproven as he hasn't thrown a pitch above Class A and turned 21 at the end of the 2019 season, but he's definitely one to watch in 2020.
- Tyler Dyson (2020 Age: 22): Dyson had the opportunity to go in the first round in 2019 with a good spring at Florida, but instead he struggled and ended up going to the Nationals in the fifth round. He seemed to turn things around a bit in his brief pro debut, where he posted a 1.07 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 17/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 33.2 innings, mostly at short season Auburn. When he's going right, he can sit in the mid 90's with his fastball and add a very good slider, though his slider softened up in 2019 and that helped hitters sit on and hit his straight fastball, of which his command is so-so. I'm not entirely sure what the difference was for him in pro ball, but he did succeed against wood bats in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2018 and his command appeared to be sharper. There's still a lot of potential variance in Dyson's outlook, and the low strikeout totals even in pro ball were a small red flag for me, but Dyson could be anything from a #3 starter to a middle reliever.
- Mason Denaburg (2020 Age: 20-21): The Nationals' first round pick in 2018, Denaburg has struggled to stay healthy so far in his pro career after missing time with biceps problems during his senior year at Merritt Island High School in Florida. Limited to seven appearances in 2019, he had a 7.52 ERA, a 1.82 WHIP, and a 19/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 20.1 innings in the complex level Gulf Coast League, with both his stuff and command taking a step back. The Nationals are hoping that a clean bill of health in 2020 will get him back to being the pitcher they drafted, when he sat in the mid 90's with his fastball and added a great curveball and solid command. That's a #3 starter profile, though obviously he has a long, long way to go.
- Andry Lara (2020 Age: 17): There's not a ton of information out there about Lara, and part of that might be because he was born in 2003 (feel old?) and hasn't pitched professionally yet. Signed for $1.25 million out of Venezuela, Lara sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball already and adds an advanced curveball and changeup for a kid who is still only 16. At 6'4", he has room to fill out and has advanced feel for pitching, though we won't know much about his overall projection for a little while. He's one to just sit back and watch for now.
- Keep an eye on: Jackson Tetreault, Mario Sanchez, Malvin Pena, Jake Irvin, Niomar Gomez
Relief Pitching
- Kyle Finnegan (2020 Age: 28): At 28 years old, Finnegan certainly isn't a young prospect, but he has yet to pitch in the majors and had a strong year in the A's system in 2019 before signing with the Nationals this offseason. Finnegan, a sixth round pick out of Texas State way back in 2013, had a breakout year in the upper minors in 2019, posting a 2.31 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 72/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 50.2 innings at AA and AAA, continuing to pitch well even at one of the most hitter-friendly parks in professional baseball. He has a power fastball that sits in the mid to upper 90's and he adds a decent slider, though his command comes and goes and he's really a wild card. Given how poorly the Nationals' bullpen has performed, he has a real shot to be a difference maker in 2019.
- Ben Braymer (2020 Age: 26): After a mediocre run through Class A Hagerstown in 2017 (5.26 ERA), when he was already 23, Braymer has gotten it figured out and more, posting a 2.28 ERA and a 118/34 strikeout to walk ratio in A ball in 2018 and then dominating at AA Harrisburg in 2019. This year, he had a 2.51 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP, and a 69/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 79 innings for the Senators, but he struggled mightily with a promotion to hitter-friendly AAA Fresno, where he had a 7.20 ERA, a 1.93 WHIP, and a 47/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 60 innings. The former 18th round senior sign out of Auburn sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a good curveball, though he's a starter for now, he probably fits best as a left handed reliever due to the lack of a good changeup and the depth of the Nationals' major league rotation. He's been effective against both lefties and righties, but with the way he was hit up at AAA, he'll probably need that extra bullpen velocity bump to handle major league hitters. For now though, he's a starter, and he could compete with Wil Crowe, Joe Ross, and others for that fifth starter spot in 2020.
- Nick Raquet (2020 Age: 24): A third round pick out of William & Mary in 2017, Raquet looked more like a reliever out of college but he's managed to stick in the rotation so far. In 2019, he posted a 4.07 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 122/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 130.1 innings at High A Potomac, keeping his starting hopes alive for now. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, though the rest of his arsenal is fairly unremarkable. His command has been better than expected in the minors and that has been the difference in his success, and he may be able to cut it as a #4 or #5 starter if he can get more consistent stuff-wise. To me, it seems like he could take a big step forward if moved to the bullpen, where his fastball could add a tick of velocity and he could focus on one breaking ball, and he could shoot through the minors and become a useful set-up man or middle reliever.
- Reid Schaller (2020 Age: 23): Schaller was a third round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2018, though he's struggled to stay healthy and stay consistent with his stuff. In 2019, he had a 3.29 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a 47/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 innings at Class A Hagerstown, missing time with injury and looking inconsistent when on the mound. He has a low to mid 90's fastball that is his best attribute, but his command isn't great and he lacks consistent secondary stuff. I think they should just stick him in the bullpen, let his fastball hit 100, and see how his slider sharpens up and if he can get himself up to the majors in that role.
- Matt Cronin (2020 Age: 22): Cronin was the Nationals' fourth round pick in 2019 out of Arkansas, and his profile is extremely straightforward. His excellent run through an aggressive initial assignment to Class A Hagerstown, in which he posted a 0.82 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and a 41/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 22 innings, shows the lethality of his low to mid 90's fastball as well as his hammer curveball, though it also highlights some inconsistent command. Cronin should be able to move very quickly through the minors and be in the majors by 2021, though improving his command will be the difference in just how quickly he moves.
- Keep an eye on: James Bourque, Jhonatan German, Karlo Seijas
Affiliates: AAA Fresno Grizzlies, AA Harrisburg Senators, High A Potomac Nationals*, Class A Hagerstown Suns, short season Auburn Doubledays, complex level GCL and DSL Nationals
*High A affiliate will move from Woodbridge, VA to Fredericksburg, VA in 2020
Catcher
- Raudy Read (2020 Age: 26): With the Nationals going with a Kurt Suzuki/Yan Gomes combination behind the plate for a second straight season, Read's best path to playing time will be if someone gets hurt. That said, he had a nice season in the minors this year, slashing .275/.317/.546 with 20 home runs and a 58/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 82 games at AAA Fresno, and he's also slashed .182/.182/.182 in 14 major league games. Read has some power and has shown some moderate ability to get to it, though he doesn't draw many walks and figures to be a low on-base percentage guy at the major league level. Though he's a good defender behind the plate, I doubt he ever takes over as a starter, but he should fit in nicely as a back-up at some point, either in DC or elsewhere.
- Tres Barrera (2020 Age: 25): A sixth round pick out of Texas in 2016, Barrera has moved slowly through the minors and in 2019, he slashed .249/.323/.381 with eight home runs and a 69/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 101 games at AA Harrisburg, also picking up two hitless major league at bats. He's a great defender who earned his way up to the majors with his glove, though his bat is a bit light to ever start at the major league level. Barrera and Read will probably compete for the third string role as long as Suzuki and Gomes are around, with Read showing a slightly better bat and Barrera showing a slightly better glove. I'd probably rather use Barrera due to the better glove.
- Israel Pineda (2020 Age: 20): Pineda hasn't quite gotten it going with the bat yet, but he's easily the best young catcher in the system. In 2019, he slashed .217/.278/.305 with seven home runs and a 102/30 strikeout to walk ratio over 101 games at Class A Hagerstown, though he only turned 19 at the start of the season. He'll probably end up as more of a back-up catcher, but he's a very competent player at a young age and that's what you like to see in a catcher. Hopefully it clicks for him in High A in 2020 and he moves towards his ceiling of a 10-15 homer, medium on-base catcher.
- Keep an eye on: Taylor Gushue, Jakson Reetz
Corner Infield
- Jake Noll (2020 Age: 26): Nationals fans may remember Noll as the relatively unknown prospect who looks like Ryan Zimmerman and cracked the Opening Day roster before going back down to the minors and not being heard from again aside from a brief call-up in May. Noll slashed .167/.231/.250 over those eight major league games, but spent the majority of 2019 at AAA Fresno, where he slashed .285/.327/.410 with eleven home runs and an 89/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 118 games in a hitter-friendly environment. He's played all over the diamond in his pro career with significant time at first, second, and third base, and he'll compete with Wilmer Difo for a utility infielder role in 2020. A seventh round pick out of Florida Gulf Coast in 2016, Noll is a very competent hitter who has shown moderate power while being a very tough out at the plate, and he should be very useful on both sides of the ball at the major league level, though I doubt he ever starts full time.
- Drew Mendoza (2020 Age: 22): Mendoza was borderline first rounder as a high schooler in the Orlando area, but he elected to attend Florida State instead and emerged as a third round pick in 2019. In his pro debut, he slashed .264/.377/.383 with four home runs and a 57/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games in an aggressive assignment at Class A Hagerstown, and he remains just a bit enigmatic as a prospect. A big guy at 6'5" and 230 pounds, he can really drive the ball with authority, though that power comes more from sheer strength than from bat speed or a particularly explosive swing, so it's not completely known how his power will translate over with wood bats. He only hit four home runs in 55 games in his pro debut, but most collegiate picks don't go straight to Class A in their draft year, so 2020 will be more illuminating. There is swing and miss in his game, which he pairs with a patient approach that helps him draw plenty of walks, and that may also impact his power production if he doesn't make enough contact. He'll have to hit as a first baseman, though the upside here is pretty good as a guy who can crack 25-30 home runs a year with walk-driven on-base percentages in the .350 range.
- Gilbert Lara (2020 Age: 22): Lara was an extremely highly regarded amateur out of the Dominican Republic, and he signed for $3.1 million back in 2014. Traded to the Natioanls with KJ Harrison for Gio Gonzalez in 2018, he started to pick it up with the bat just a little in 2019. This year, he slashed .242/.280/.375 with 13 home runs and a 123/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 133 games at Class A Hagerstown and High A Potomac, though the strike zone got away from him a bit at the higher level. He's got some power in his 6'4" frame and can get to it with an explosive swing, but the swing can get long and he hasn't shown the ability to tap into it consistently at any point. Defensively, he's strong at third base, which buys his bat time to develop, and he projects as somewhat of a utility infielder/back-up third baseman with some pop down the line. Hopefully he can shorten his swing a bit and be more than that though.
- Keep an eye on: KJ Harrison, Aldrem Corredor, Leandro Emiliani
Middle Infield
- Carter Kieboom (2020 Age: 22): This is the name Nationals fans keep hearing. While he's not the same caliber of a prospect that Juan Soto and Victor Robles were, the hope here is that Kieboom can give the Nationals a third NL ROY-caliber position player in as many years. A first round pick out of high school in the Atlanta area in 2016, Kieboom slashed .303/.409/.493 with 16 home runs and a 100/68 strikeout to walk ratio over 109 games at hitter-friendly AAA Fresno in 2019, also slashing .128/.209/.282 with a pair of home runs in an eleven game cup of coffee at the major league level. He's a very talented hitter with great feel for the barrel that enables his slightly above average raw power to play up in games, somewhat like Anthony Rendon in that regard. He's also patient and draws his share of walks, and it's easy to envision him hitting 20 home runs per season with high on-base percentages. He's also a decent defender at shortstop who should be above average at second or third base, adding to his value, though he's expected to play more second base early on with Trea Turner holding down shortstop and one of Rendon or Josh Donaldson likely to man third base in 2020. The biggest blemish on Kieboom's strong profile was his brief MLB debut, where he clearly did not look ready (can you blame him, he was 21) and the game just seemed to speed up on him. A little more seasoning should help, and I expect him to be a real contributor in 2020, with his ultimate projection being something similar to early-career Rendon.
- Luis Garcia (2020 Age: 19-20): This is an interesting prospect. Garcia was signed for $1.3 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2016, hit well in an aggressive assignment to the complex-level Gulf Coast League in 2017, reached High A shortly after his 18th birthday in 2018 as the youngest player in the league, then reached AA before he even turned 19 in 2019. That was his first real speed bump, as he slashed just .257/.280/.337 with four home runs, eleven stolen bases, and an 86/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 129 games, but he did play well in the Eastern League playoffs with six hits in fifteen at bats (.400 AVG) and five walks to just one strikeout. He's an extremely advanced hitter for his age, as he makes very consistent contact and isn't fooled by advanced pitching. He was just a bit overmatched at Harrisburg this year, and he lacked much impact at the plate, so he won't be major league ready at the outset of 2020, but he has the chance to post good on-base percentages and hit ten or so home runs per season at the major league level. Defensively, he's strong at shortstop but might fit better at second base in the long run.
- Cole Freeman (2020 Age: 25): A fourth round pick as a senior out of LSU in 2017, Freeman slashed an unremarkable .266/.354/.371 line in Class A in 2018 but broke out in 2019, slashing .311/.394/.404 with three home runs, 31 stolen bases, and a 60/53 strikeout to walk ratio over 123 games at High A Potomac. He has some of the best plate discipline in the system, rarely swinging and missing and also drawing a healthy amount of walks. While he's nowhere near a power hitter, he doesn't completely lack impact at the plate and can drive the ball to the gaps and use his speed to pick up doubles and triples. He's a bit of an older prospect due to being drafted as a college senior, as he turned 25 in September and has yet to reach AA, but he has a ceiling as an effective super-utility type who can play second base, center field, and left field with his speed but mediocre arm.
- Yasel Antuna (2020 Age: 20): The Nationals had three big middle infield signings in the 2016-2017 international signing period, and while Luis Garcia has blossomed into one of the best prospects in the system, Jose Sanchez and Yasel Antuna have yet to get things going. Antuna, who signed for the largest bonus of the group at $3.9 million, slashed just .220/.293/.331 as an 18 year old at Class A in 2018 but missed all but three games in 2019 with Tommy John surgery. He's extremely talented, showing some power from both sides of the plate with an explosive bat, and he controls the zone well for someone his age. Defensively, he's a shortstop for now and has the tools to stick there, but it he's still a work in progress there and the Tommy John surgery doesn't help. Because he'll spend the entire 2020 season at 20 years old, he's young enough to absorb this lost season and stay on schedule with his development, but for now he's all projection and no track record.
- Viandel Pena (2020 Age: 19): There's not much publicly available information on Pena, but he's certainly interesting. Listed at just 5'8" and 148 pounds, he might be the smallest guy in the system, but that didn't stop him from slashing .359/.455/.481 with six stolen bases and a 31/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 37 games in the complex level Gulf Coast League as an 18 year old. Pena is a patient hitter with great knowledge of the strike zone for his age, and while he swings and misses just a bit more than you'd hope for a slap hitter, he has the ceiling of a leadoff-type second baseman if he fills out and develops some impact at the plate. Of course, he'll likely never hit for much power at all, so he's more likely to end up a utility infielder.
- Keep an eye on: Jackson Cluff, J.T. Arruda, Jose Sanchez, Viandel Pena
Outfield
- Nick Banks (2020 Age: 25): Banks was considered a potential first round pick at Texas A&M, but a nagging back injury hurt his numbers as a junior and he fell to the fourth round in 2016. He's come along slowly for a college player but his numbers have steadily improved, and in 2019 he slashed .278/.338/.431 with ten home runs and a 95/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 114 games at High A Potomac and AA Harrisburg. Banks is a relatively average player all around, but he's gotten better with every promotion and he uses a short, simple swing to drive the ball with authority regularly. In most systems he'd probably fade into the crowd, but the Nationals are so shallow in minor league outfielders that he has a shot to be a useful fourth outfielder in the near future.
- Gage Canning (2020 Age: 23): Canning was a fifth round pick out of Arizona State in 2018, and he finished his first full season with a .239/.308/.341 slash line, four home runs, 14 stolen bases, and a 127/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 111 games. Aside from his speed, he doesn't really stand out for anything on the field, but he plays hard and he gets the most of what he has. He has good feel for the barrel and likes to drive doubles and triples into the gap, and though he's only listed at 5'10" and 175 pounds, he might be able to develop some moderate over the fence power. He's an aggressive hitter who doesn't draw a lot of walks, so his ultimate projection is that as a speedy fourth outfielder.
- Jeremy De La Rosa (2020 Age: 18): The Nationals signed De La Rosa for $300,000 in 2018 and skipped him straight to the complex level Gulf Coast League to begin his pro career in 2019, where he slashed .232/.343/.366 with two home runs and a 29/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 26 games. For now, he mostly stands out for his feel for the game at such a young age, and he'll spend all of 2020 at just 18 years old with the chance to hit his way up to full season ball. He might not have the high, high ceiling of some of his fellow international signees, but he sticks out in a system very short in outfield depth. It's hard to project these kids at 17 and 18 years old, but he figures to post high on-base percentages with 15 or so home runs per season at the major league level, at least for now.
- Keep an eye on: Yadiel Hernandez, Telmito Augustin, Rhett Wiseman, Jacob Rhinesmith, Justin Connell, Jeremy Ydens
Starting Pitching
- Wil Crowe (2020 Age: 25): Recent top Nationals pitching prospects to reach the majors like Joe Ross, Erick Fedde, and Austin Voth have had varying levels of success, though none have really caught on in a significant way. Wil Crowe hopes to be the next in line to try to stick in the rotation, on the heels of a 4.70 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and a 130/48 strikeout to walk ratio over 149.1 innings at AA Harrisburg and AAA Fresno. His numbers were much better at the lower level (3.87 ERA, 89/22 K/BB) than with the juiced balls at the higher level (6.17 ERA, 41/26 K/BB), hinting that he may not be 100% ready, but he's risen rapidly through the minors since being drafted in the second round out of South Carolina in 2017. At a listed 6'2" and 240 pounds, he's a big, durable pitcher armed with a low 90's fastball, a slider, a curve, and a changeup, none of which are true out pitches, but they're all effective and he commands and mixes them fairly well. He definitely passes the eye test of a #4 or so big league starter, one who can eat inning and give consistent, quality starts.
- Tim Cate (2020 Age: 22): Crowe may have to establish himself quickly, because a year after taking Crowe out of South Carolina in the second round, the Nationals spent their second round pick on Tim Cate from Connecticut. Cate had a big first full season in 2019, posting a 3.07 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 139/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 143.2 innings at Class A Hagerstown and High A Potomac. The biggest thing for Cate in 2019 was going to be proving he was healthy after missing time during his junior season with forearm problems, and not only did he do that, he took it a step forward and proved he can start in pro ball. He's a 6' lefty that sits in the low 90's with his fastball, but he adds a plus-plus, swing and miss power curveball that can help him rack up the strikeouts all on its own. His command also took a step forward, and the hope is that he can continue on his current development path and become a #3 starter for the Nationals. In my opinion, he's the second best pitching prospect in the system after Jackson Rutledge.
- Sterling Sharp (2020 Age: 24-25): A 22nd round pick out of Drury University in 2016, Sharp has slowly pitched his way into the Nationals' rotation of the future. In 2019, he posted a 3.53 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a 52/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 58.2 innings between AA Harrisburg and some lower level rehab work, though he missed a chunk of the season with oblique issues. Sharp might have the heaviest fastball in the Nationals' system, sitting in the low 90's and keeping the ball on the ground as consistently as anyone in minor league baseball. His best secondary pitch is his changeup, which dives away from left handed hitters, though his slider lacks sharpness and is probably the last hurdle he needs to clear to become a major league starter. His command is above average and his great athleticism on the mound helps him in a variety of ways, and if he can stay healthy and sharpen that slider, he could be a #3 or #4 starter. If not, he could still end up a #5, or be a long reliever.
- Jackson Rutledge (2020 Age: 21): Rutledge was considered a good draft prospect out of high school in St. Louis in 2017, but he instead attended Arkansas, got hurt, and transferred to San Jacinto Community College in Houston, where he jumped from a could-be to a legit star. After the Nationals took him in the first round in 2019, he posted a 3.13 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and a 39/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 37.1 innings across three levels in his debut, reaching Class A Hagerstown at the end. Rutledge is a huge guy who stands 6'8" and sits consistently in the mid 90's with his fastball, adding a pair of distinct, swing and miss breaking balls in a curveball and a slider. That all alone gives him true ace potential, though he does have a couple of drawbacks. His control is solid but probably plays a tick below average for now, and his changeup is mediocre. Rutledge clearly has the stuff to start, and on top of the command and changeup, he'll have to a) prove he can stay healthy after missing much of 2018, and b) get just a bit more consistent with his whole game. There is work to do on Rutledge but he is already well on his way towards being an impact starting pitcher, and that's why the Nationals spent $3.45 million on him at 17th overall.
- Steven Fuentes (2020 Age: 22-23): Moved to the rotation in 2019, Fuentes took a huge step forward, posting a 2.23 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and a 89/22 strikeout to walk ratio in 80.2 innings at High A Potomac and AA Harrisburg. However, he got suspended in July for using PED's, and we haven't sen him pitch since. He only sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a solid slider, but he gets outs with his changeup and good command that helped him maneuver advanced lineups. We obviously have to see how he returns from the suspension, but he has the chance to be a back-end starter or a good reliever.
- Seth Romero (2020 Age: 24): Pitch for pitch, Seth Romero has probably had as much media coverage as anybody from his draft class. A standout at Houston, he put himself in position to go in the top ten picks but turned out to be, for lack of a better word, a total jackass, and multiple off-field incidents got him suspended then kicked off of the school's baseball team. The Nationals took the risk anyways in the back of the first round, but he got sent home in 2018 for continuing to be a jackass and only made seven starts at Class A Hagerstown (3.91 ERA, 34/8 K/BB). Apparently he began to turn the corner maturity-wise, but he went down with Tommy John surgery and missed the 2019 season. So here we are in the 2019-2020 offseason, a few months shy of his 24th birthday, and he's thrown 47.1 professional innings. When he's on the mound, there is zero question about his talent – he sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, adds a swing and miss slider and a solid changeup, and commands everything well. That all points to a future as a potential #2 or #3 starter if he can stay on the mound, but we'll have to see if he's decided he actually wants to be a professional pitcher.
- Joan Adon (2020 Age: 21-22): Adon was a reliever up until 2019, when the Nationals transitioned him to the rotation and the results were very good; he had a 3.86 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and a 90/44 strikeout to walk ratio over 105 innings at Class A Hagerstown. He can sit in the mid 90's with his power fastball, even out of the rotation, and he adds a good slider and a developing changeup with decent command. That's a great relief profile, but the Nationals like his upside in the rotation and he's athletic enough that if they can get his command to take a step forward, he could be an impact starting pitcher. He's very unproven as he hasn't thrown a pitch above Class A and turned 21 at the end of the 2019 season, but he's definitely one to watch in 2020.
- Tyler Dyson (2020 Age: 22): Dyson had the opportunity to go in the first round in 2019 with a good spring at Florida, but instead he struggled and ended up going to the Nationals in the fifth round. He seemed to turn things around a bit in his brief pro debut, where he posted a 1.07 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 17/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 33.2 innings, mostly at short season Auburn. When he's going right, he can sit in the mid 90's with his fastball and add a very good slider, though his slider softened up in 2019 and that helped hitters sit on and hit his straight fastball, of which his command is so-so. I'm not entirely sure what the difference was for him in pro ball, but he did succeed against wood bats in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2018 and his command appeared to be sharper. There's still a lot of potential variance in Dyson's outlook, and the low strikeout totals even in pro ball were a small red flag for me, but Dyson could be anything from a #3 starter to a middle reliever.
- Mason Denaburg (2020 Age: 20-21): The Nationals' first round pick in 2018, Denaburg has struggled to stay healthy so far in his pro career after missing time with biceps problems during his senior year at Merritt Island High School in Florida. Limited to seven appearances in 2019, he had a 7.52 ERA, a 1.82 WHIP, and a 19/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 20.1 innings in the complex level Gulf Coast League, with both his stuff and command taking a step back. The Nationals are hoping that a clean bill of health in 2020 will get him back to being the pitcher they drafted, when he sat in the mid 90's with his fastball and added a great curveball and solid command. That's a #3 starter profile, though obviously he has a long, long way to go.
- Andry Lara (2020 Age: 17): There's not a ton of information out there about Lara, and part of that might be because he was born in 2003 (feel old?) and hasn't pitched professionally yet. Signed for $1.25 million out of Venezuela, Lara sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball already and adds an advanced curveball and changeup for a kid who is still only 16. At 6'4", he has room to fill out and has advanced feel for pitching, though we won't know much about his overall projection for a little while. He's one to just sit back and watch for now.
- Keep an eye on: Jackson Tetreault, Mario Sanchez, Malvin Pena, Jake Irvin, Niomar Gomez
Relief Pitching
- Kyle Finnegan (2020 Age: 28): At 28 years old, Finnegan certainly isn't a young prospect, but he has yet to pitch in the majors and had a strong year in the A's system in 2019 before signing with the Nationals this offseason. Finnegan, a sixth round pick out of Texas State way back in 2013, had a breakout year in the upper minors in 2019, posting a 2.31 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and a 72/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 50.2 innings at AA and AAA, continuing to pitch well even at one of the most hitter-friendly parks in professional baseball. He has a power fastball that sits in the mid to upper 90's and he adds a decent slider, though his command comes and goes and he's really a wild card. Given how poorly the Nationals' bullpen has performed, he has a real shot to be a difference maker in 2019.
- Ben Braymer (2020 Age: 26): After a mediocre run through Class A Hagerstown in 2017 (5.26 ERA), when he was already 23, Braymer has gotten it figured out and more, posting a 2.28 ERA and a 118/34 strikeout to walk ratio in A ball in 2018 and then dominating at AA Harrisburg in 2019. This year, he had a 2.51 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP, and a 69/21 strikeout to walk ratio over 79 innings for the Senators, but he struggled mightily with a promotion to hitter-friendly AAA Fresno, where he had a 7.20 ERA, a 1.93 WHIP, and a 47/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 60 innings. The former 18th round senior sign out of Auburn sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a good curveball, though he's a starter for now, he probably fits best as a left handed reliever due to the lack of a good changeup and the depth of the Nationals' major league rotation. He's been effective against both lefties and righties, but with the way he was hit up at AAA, he'll probably need that extra bullpen velocity bump to handle major league hitters. For now though, he's a starter, and he could compete with Wil Crowe, Joe Ross, and others for that fifth starter spot in 2020.
- Nick Raquet (2020 Age: 24): A third round pick out of William & Mary in 2017, Raquet looked more like a reliever out of college but he's managed to stick in the rotation so far. In 2019, he posted a 4.07 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 122/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 130.1 innings at High A Potomac, keeping his starting hopes alive for now. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, though the rest of his arsenal is fairly unremarkable. His command has been better than expected in the minors and that has been the difference in his success, and he may be able to cut it as a #4 or #5 starter if he can get more consistent stuff-wise. To me, it seems like he could take a big step forward if moved to the bullpen, where his fastball could add a tick of velocity and he could focus on one breaking ball, and he could shoot through the minors and become a useful set-up man or middle reliever.
- Reid Schaller (2020 Age: 23): Schaller was a third round pick out of Vanderbilt in 2018, though he's struggled to stay healthy and stay consistent with his stuff. In 2019, he had a 3.29 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a 47/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 innings at Class A Hagerstown, missing time with injury and looking inconsistent when on the mound. He has a low to mid 90's fastball that is his best attribute, but his command isn't great and he lacks consistent secondary stuff. I think they should just stick him in the bullpen, let his fastball hit 100, and see how his slider sharpens up and if he can get himself up to the majors in that role.
- Matt Cronin (2020 Age: 22): Cronin was the Nationals' fourth round pick in 2019 out of Arkansas, and his profile is extremely straightforward. His excellent run through an aggressive initial assignment to Class A Hagerstown, in which he posted a 0.82 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and a 41/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 22 innings, shows the lethality of his low to mid 90's fastball as well as his hammer curveball, though it also highlights some inconsistent command. Cronin should be able to move very quickly through the minors and be in the majors by 2021, though improving his command will be the difference in just how quickly he moves.
- Keep an eye on: James Bourque, Jhonatan German, Karlo Seijas
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Reviewing the Washington Nationals Farm System
Coming into the season, the Nationals' farm system was very top heavy, and with Juan Soto no longer a prospect and not much up to take his place, the system is pretty shallow behind top prospects Victor Robles and Carter Kieboom. Even with a heavy emphasis on drafting pitching in recent years, the system remains hitter-heavy as many of those pitchers have failed to materialize into legitimate prospects. Fortunately, the Nationals are fairly deep at two of the toughest positions to find: catcher and shortstop.
Affiliates: AAA Syracuse Chiefs*, AA Harrisburg Senators, High A Potomac Nationals, Class A Hagerstown Suns, Short Season Auburn Doubledays, complex level GCL and DSL Nationals
*AAA affiliate will move from Syracuse, NY to Fresno, CA in 2019
The Headliner: OF Victor Robles
21 year old Victor Robles was supposed to do what Juan Soto did in 2018, but an arm injury wiped out most of his season and he finished slashing .276/.371/.370 with a pair of home runs and 19 stolen bases over 52 games, showing a nice 32/26 strikeout to walk ratio at AAA Syracuse. He's an extremely advanced player for his age, showing power, on-base ability, speed, and great defense at a young age, and at this point all he needs is an extended shot. I don't think he's the future superstar that a lot of analysts have pegged him as, but I see him producing like an Adam Eaton-type player for a long time, making a few All Star teams and hitting at the top of the lineup as long as manager Dave Martinez realizes that hitting for power doesn't make you a bad leadoff man. In 21 major league games this year, he slashed .288/.348/.525 with three home runs and three stolen bases, showing that he's ready and that the Nationals should be prepared to make him their starting center fielder in 2019 and beyond.
Infield Prospects: SS Carter Kieboom, SS Luis Garcia, SS Yasel Antuna, SS Jose Sanchez, 3B Drew Ward, and 1B KJ Harrison
The Nationals system is fortunate to have plenty of shortstops in the minors, and while most of these guys will either have to move off the position or won't have the bat to hit in the majors, it's nice knowing at least one will probably work out as a starting shortstop. The most likely major leaguer is 21 year old Carter Kieboom, a shortstop right now who may be able to cut it at that position in the majors but whose more likely destination is second or third base, depending on Anthony Rendon. Kieboom missed time to injuries in 2017 but had a big 2018 by slashing .280/.357/.444 with 16 home runs and a 109/58 strikeout to walk ratio over 123 games at High A Potomac and AA Harrisburg, showing power, plate discipline, and good defense. His game is actually fairly similar to Rendon's, and while Rendon represents more of a ceiling than a most likely outcome for Kieboom, he could be a 20 homer bat with strong on-base percentages in the majors. 18 year old Luis Garcia did more than any other position player prospect to boost his stock this year, slashing .298/.336/.406 with seven home runs, 12 stolen bases, and an 82/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 127 games between Class A Hagerstown and Potomac. The bat is a little lighter than Kieboom's, but he is exceptionally young and won't even turn 19 until May. His strong performances in A ball, with no loss of production with the promotion from Class A to High A, point to a very advanced bat for his age. As of now, he also looks like he can stick at shortstop, so the big question will be how much power he can develop. Two more infielders from Garcia's class, 19 year old Yasel Antuna and 18 year old Jose Sanchez, have not developed as quickly. Antuna spent the year at Hagerstown, slashing .220/.293/.331 with six home runs and a 79/32 strikeout to walk ratio in 87 games, while Sanchez played at Short Season Auburn and slashed .230/.309/.282 with no home runs and a 56/24 strikeout to walk ratio in 64 games. Sanchez is considered the stronger defender, perhaps even ahead of Garcia, but both bats are clearly still transitioning to pro baseball. Right now, they look like utility men at best, but a lot can change for players of that age. 23 year old Drew Ward is a different type of prospect, wielding a more advanced bat but also obviously much older. In 2018, he slashed .249/.363/.422 with 13 home runs and a 115/62 strikeout to walk ratio over 115 games at AA Harrisburg and AAA Syracuse. He has a very nice power/patience combination, but he struggles to get to his power enough for it to make much of a difference at this point and he's looking more like a bench bat who could be up in the majors by September of 2019. Lastly, 22 year old KJ Harrison came over in the Gio Gonzalez trade and really struggled in his first full season after being drafted in the third round (84th overall) out of Oregon State in 2017. In 115 games at the Brewers' Class A affiliate, he slashed .228/.298/.384 with 12 home runs and a 147/39 strikeout to walk ratio, showing some power but overall not looking like the fairly advanced bat the Brewers thought they were drafting. He has a chance to turn it around in 2019, but he can't really afford another lost season like 2018.
Outfielders and Catchers: OF Daniel Johnson, OF Austin Davidson, OF Gage Canning, OF Telmito Agustin, C Raudy Read, C Tres Barrera, and C Israel Pineda
The outfield isn't as deep as the infield, with only five prospects with any kind of projection (the previously mentioned Victor Robles being the fifth), and all of them come with plenty of risk. 23 year old Daniel Johnson put himself on the map with a breakout 2017 in A ball (.298/.356/.505, 22 HR, 22 SB) but slowed down a bit in 2018 with a .269/.327/.412 line, seven home runs, 22 stolen bases, and a 92/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 96 games, mostly at AA Harrisburg. Last year, Johnson flashed a power/speed combination that's hard to find, but the power wasn't really there in 2018 and right now his projection looks something along the lines of a Michael A. Taylor. 25 year old Austin Davidson is an older prospect without much projection remaining, but he's coming off a nice season where he slashed .292/.374/.482 with 11 home runs and a 53/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 112 games at High A Potomac and Harrisburg. He could be a nice bench bat but probably not more. Deeper into the minors, 21 year old Gage Canning had a nice debut after being drafted in the fifth round out of Arizona State this year, slashing .253/.319/.470 with six home runs and a 54/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 45 games between Short Season Auburn and Class A Hagerstown, with the bulk of the production coming before his promotion. Right now, Canning has a fourth outfielder projection, but I would not count him out as a potential starter down the road as he has few weaknesses in his game as an all-around solid contributor. He's a breakout candidate for 2019. 22 year old Telmito Agustin has been very slow to get his minor league career going, and he just wrapped up his fifth minor league season by slashing .273/.338/.404 with six home runs and a 63/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 81 games between Auburn and Potomac. He's a good hitter that shows all-around skills at the plate when he's healthy, but he has never been healthy for long enough to really find his groove at the plate and show what he can do. The Nationals are hoping to get another potential fourth outfielder out of him, but he has to stay healthy to become that. Of the three notable catchers in the system, which the Nationals are fortunate to have, 25 year old Raudy Read is the most advanced. Read had a power breakout in 2017 by slugging 17 home runs, but he was then busted for PED's and came back to slash .279/.319/.401 with just three home runs at Harrisburg and AAA Syracuse after his suspension in 2018. He's a solid defensive catcher, but with a so-so bat, he's likely to compete with Pedro Severino and Spencer Kieboom for the backup catcher's spot in 2019. A little farther down the line, 24 year old Tres Barrera slashed .263/.334/.386 with six home runs and a 53/22 strikeout to walk ratio at Potomac, also showing a so-so bat to go along with good defense. There is definitely some power in the bat and he keeps his strikeout rate reasonably low, but as with Read, it looks more like a backup catcher's profile. Perhaps the highest ceiling catcher in the Nationals' system is 18 year old Israel Pineda, who slashed a very respectable .273/.341/.388 with four home runs and a 35/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 46 games down at Auburn. He's an advanced hitter for a teenager, especially for a catcher, and he should also be noted on that list of potential breakouts for 2019. If all goes well (which is definitely not a given with catching prospects), Pineda could occupy a very different spot in the Nationals' minor league depth chart a year from now.
Right Handed Pitchers: Wil Crowe, Mason Denaburg, Sterling Sharp, James Bourque, Jackson Tetreault, and Reid Schaller
The Nationals have traded away tons of pitching talent recently, and they're left with a fairly shallow pool. Among the right handers in the group, 24 year old Wil Crowe is the closest impact arm to the majors. He dominated at High A Potomac (11-0, 2.69 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 78/30 K/BB in 87 IP) but struggled upon his promotion to AA Harrisburg (0-5, 6.15 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 15/16 K/BB in 26.1 IP). He's a big 6'2" righty from East Tennessee, and he gets by showing decent control of mid-rotation stuff. Crowe has to acclimate to the upper minors, as he has proven that A ball hitting is no match for him. His combination of stuff and command is good enough for the upper levels, so it's just a matter of time and he should end up as a #4ish starter. 19 year old Mason Denaburg, meanwhile, was the team's first round pick (27th overall) out of a Florida high school in 2018, and he's all ceiling and no floor. Denaburg has the stuff to be a #2 or #3 starter, and his good athleticism only makes him more likely to become one, but he has not pitched yet due to arm troubles and he has a lot to prove. He should be healthy for 2019, so look for him to start either in Short Season ball or up at Class A Hagerstown, where he could quickly become the system's top pitching prospect with some success out of the gate. 23 year old Sterling Sharp, aside from having an awesome name, just put up a solid season by going 11-6 with a 3.70 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP, and a 105/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 148.1 innings between Potomac and Harrisburg. He wasn't spectacular, but he showed good enough stuff and command to fit into the back of the rotation, and while his skinny 6'4" frame logically lends itself to increased velocity down the line, at 23 years old he probably is what he is at this point. 25 year old James Bourque is exclusively a relief-only prospect, having found success in the bullpen after being converted from starting over the offseason. This year, he put up a 1.70 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and a 76/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 53 innings at Potomac and Harrisburg, showing a power fastball/curveball combination that is good enough to get major leaguers out but which he needs to command better. Expect him up in the majors as a middle reliever some time in 2019. 22 year old Jackson Tetreault was one of two Florida JuCo Jacksons taken by the Nationals in the middle rounds of the 2017 draft, and while Jackson Stoeckinger hasn't been great, Tetreault just put up a 4.07 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a 138/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 132.2 innings between Class A Hagerstown and Potomac. Tetrault has a very good fastball/curveball combination, and he could be a mid rotation or back end starter if his changeup comes along. If not, he fits well as a reliever and would move quicker through the minors that way, though the Nationals rightly hold out hope he could be a major league starter. 21 year old Reid Schaller was a third round pick (101st overall) out of Vanderbilt in 2018, and though he's a college arm, he's more of the projectable type than the safe-bet type. Schaller throws hard, but at this point, that's about it, as he doesn't command his average stuff well. The Nationals will hope to develop him as a starter, but he looks more like a set-up man to me.
Left Handed Pitchers: Seth Romero, Tim Cate, Nick Raquet, and Ben Braymer
Currently, the Nationals have four notable left handed pitchers in their system, and they're a fairly diverse group. 22 year old Seth Romero is probably the most interesting not only in this group but in the entire system, having thrown just 47.1 professional innings since he was drafted in the first round (25th overall) out of the University of Houston in 2017. A top ten draft pick on talent alone, he fell because of severe disciplinary issues (he was actually kicked off of his college baseball team after multiple suspensions) and had to miss the start of the 2018 minor league season after more disciplinary issues. In seven starts after coming back, he posted a 3.91 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a nice 34/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 25.1 innings at Class A Hagerstown, showing the possible front of the rotation stuff that earned him such a high draft pick. If he can just grow up a little bit, his excellent combination of stuff and command could make him a #2 starter, but he has to get on the mound and stay out of trouble at some point in order for that to happen. 21 year old Tim Cate was a second round pick (65th overall) out of UConn in 2018, and he posted a 5.02 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, and a 45/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 innings between Short Season Auburn and Hagerstown in his pro debut. Cate is an undersized lefty at 6', but his curveball was considered one of the best in the draft and that is a good building block for now. He was inconsistent throughout his college career, but when he was on, he looked like a legitimate mid-rotation starter who could mix pitches and work off that great curveball, so he just has to work on getting more consistent with his command and other pitches. He still could be a mid-rotation starter, but there is a chance he ends up in the bullpen, where he could still be an impact arm. 22 year old Nick Raquet was a third round pick (103rd overall) out of William & Mary in 2017, and at the time I thought he profiled better as a reliever than as a starter. He was pretty good as a starter in 2018 though, posting a 3.74 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, and a 92/39 strikeout to walk ratio over 122.2 innings between Hagerstown and High A Potomac. The low strikeout rate makes me think he still would look better as a reliever, where his stuff plays up and his command is better (based off of observations from watching him pitch in college), but it was nice to see him pitch well as a starter at Hagerstown then hold his own at Potomac. 24 year old Ben Braymer dominated mid level competition in 2018, going 9-3 with a 2.28 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and a 118/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 114.2 innings for Hagerstown and Potomac. He was older than most of the competition he faced, but he showed good command of average stuff and could make it to the majors as a #5 starter or a Sammy Solis-type long reliever. We need to see him at higher levels but don't count him out just for his age.
Affiliates: AAA Syracuse Chiefs*, AA Harrisburg Senators, High A Potomac Nationals, Class A Hagerstown Suns, Short Season Auburn Doubledays, complex level GCL and DSL Nationals
*AAA affiliate will move from Syracuse, NY to Fresno, CA in 2019
The Headliner: OF Victor Robles
21 year old Victor Robles was supposed to do what Juan Soto did in 2018, but an arm injury wiped out most of his season and he finished slashing .276/.371/.370 with a pair of home runs and 19 stolen bases over 52 games, showing a nice 32/26 strikeout to walk ratio at AAA Syracuse. He's an extremely advanced player for his age, showing power, on-base ability, speed, and great defense at a young age, and at this point all he needs is an extended shot. I don't think he's the future superstar that a lot of analysts have pegged him as, but I see him producing like an Adam Eaton-type player for a long time, making a few All Star teams and hitting at the top of the lineup as long as manager Dave Martinez realizes that hitting for power doesn't make you a bad leadoff man. In 21 major league games this year, he slashed .288/.348/.525 with three home runs and three stolen bases, showing that he's ready and that the Nationals should be prepared to make him their starting center fielder in 2019 and beyond.
Infield Prospects: SS Carter Kieboom, SS Luis Garcia, SS Yasel Antuna, SS Jose Sanchez, 3B Drew Ward, and 1B KJ Harrison
The Nationals system is fortunate to have plenty of shortstops in the minors, and while most of these guys will either have to move off the position or won't have the bat to hit in the majors, it's nice knowing at least one will probably work out as a starting shortstop. The most likely major leaguer is 21 year old Carter Kieboom, a shortstop right now who may be able to cut it at that position in the majors but whose more likely destination is second or third base, depending on Anthony Rendon. Kieboom missed time to injuries in 2017 but had a big 2018 by slashing .280/.357/.444 with 16 home runs and a 109/58 strikeout to walk ratio over 123 games at High A Potomac and AA Harrisburg, showing power, plate discipline, and good defense. His game is actually fairly similar to Rendon's, and while Rendon represents more of a ceiling than a most likely outcome for Kieboom, he could be a 20 homer bat with strong on-base percentages in the majors. 18 year old Luis Garcia did more than any other position player prospect to boost his stock this year, slashing .298/.336/.406 with seven home runs, 12 stolen bases, and an 82/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 127 games between Class A Hagerstown and Potomac. The bat is a little lighter than Kieboom's, but he is exceptionally young and won't even turn 19 until May. His strong performances in A ball, with no loss of production with the promotion from Class A to High A, point to a very advanced bat for his age. As of now, he also looks like he can stick at shortstop, so the big question will be how much power he can develop. Two more infielders from Garcia's class, 19 year old Yasel Antuna and 18 year old Jose Sanchez, have not developed as quickly. Antuna spent the year at Hagerstown, slashing .220/.293/.331 with six home runs and a 79/32 strikeout to walk ratio in 87 games, while Sanchez played at Short Season Auburn and slashed .230/.309/.282 with no home runs and a 56/24 strikeout to walk ratio in 64 games. Sanchez is considered the stronger defender, perhaps even ahead of Garcia, but both bats are clearly still transitioning to pro baseball. Right now, they look like utility men at best, but a lot can change for players of that age. 23 year old Drew Ward is a different type of prospect, wielding a more advanced bat but also obviously much older. In 2018, he slashed .249/.363/.422 with 13 home runs and a 115/62 strikeout to walk ratio over 115 games at AA Harrisburg and AAA Syracuse. He has a very nice power/patience combination, but he struggles to get to his power enough for it to make much of a difference at this point and he's looking more like a bench bat who could be up in the majors by September of 2019. Lastly, 22 year old KJ Harrison came over in the Gio Gonzalez trade and really struggled in his first full season after being drafted in the third round (84th overall) out of Oregon State in 2017. In 115 games at the Brewers' Class A affiliate, he slashed .228/.298/.384 with 12 home runs and a 147/39 strikeout to walk ratio, showing some power but overall not looking like the fairly advanced bat the Brewers thought they were drafting. He has a chance to turn it around in 2019, but he can't really afford another lost season like 2018.
Outfielders and Catchers: OF Daniel Johnson, OF Austin Davidson, OF Gage Canning, OF Telmito Agustin, C Raudy Read, C Tres Barrera, and C Israel Pineda
The outfield isn't as deep as the infield, with only five prospects with any kind of projection (the previously mentioned Victor Robles being the fifth), and all of them come with plenty of risk. 23 year old Daniel Johnson put himself on the map with a breakout 2017 in A ball (.298/.356/.505, 22 HR, 22 SB) but slowed down a bit in 2018 with a .269/.327/.412 line, seven home runs, 22 stolen bases, and a 92/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 96 games, mostly at AA Harrisburg. Last year, Johnson flashed a power/speed combination that's hard to find, but the power wasn't really there in 2018 and right now his projection looks something along the lines of a Michael A. Taylor. 25 year old Austin Davidson is an older prospect without much projection remaining, but he's coming off a nice season where he slashed .292/.374/.482 with 11 home runs and a 53/43 strikeout to walk ratio over 112 games at High A Potomac and Harrisburg. He could be a nice bench bat but probably not more. Deeper into the minors, 21 year old Gage Canning had a nice debut after being drafted in the fifth round out of Arizona State this year, slashing .253/.319/.470 with six home runs and a 54/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 45 games between Short Season Auburn and Class A Hagerstown, with the bulk of the production coming before his promotion. Right now, Canning has a fourth outfielder projection, but I would not count him out as a potential starter down the road as he has few weaknesses in his game as an all-around solid contributor. He's a breakout candidate for 2019. 22 year old Telmito Agustin has been very slow to get his minor league career going, and he just wrapped up his fifth minor league season by slashing .273/.338/.404 with six home runs and a 63/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 81 games between Auburn and Potomac. He's a good hitter that shows all-around skills at the plate when he's healthy, but he has never been healthy for long enough to really find his groove at the plate and show what he can do. The Nationals are hoping to get another potential fourth outfielder out of him, but he has to stay healthy to become that. Of the three notable catchers in the system, which the Nationals are fortunate to have, 25 year old Raudy Read is the most advanced. Read had a power breakout in 2017 by slugging 17 home runs, but he was then busted for PED's and came back to slash .279/.319/.401 with just three home runs at Harrisburg and AAA Syracuse after his suspension in 2018. He's a solid defensive catcher, but with a so-so bat, he's likely to compete with Pedro Severino and Spencer Kieboom for the backup catcher's spot in 2019. A little farther down the line, 24 year old Tres Barrera slashed .263/.334/.386 with six home runs and a 53/22 strikeout to walk ratio at Potomac, also showing a so-so bat to go along with good defense. There is definitely some power in the bat and he keeps his strikeout rate reasonably low, but as with Read, it looks more like a backup catcher's profile. Perhaps the highest ceiling catcher in the Nationals' system is 18 year old Israel Pineda, who slashed a very respectable .273/.341/.388 with four home runs and a 35/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 46 games down at Auburn. He's an advanced hitter for a teenager, especially for a catcher, and he should also be noted on that list of potential breakouts for 2019. If all goes well (which is definitely not a given with catching prospects), Pineda could occupy a very different spot in the Nationals' minor league depth chart a year from now.
Right Handed Pitchers: Wil Crowe, Mason Denaburg, Sterling Sharp, James Bourque, Jackson Tetreault, and Reid Schaller
The Nationals have traded away tons of pitching talent recently, and they're left with a fairly shallow pool. Among the right handers in the group, 24 year old Wil Crowe is the closest impact arm to the majors. He dominated at High A Potomac (11-0, 2.69 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 78/30 K/BB in 87 IP) but struggled upon his promotion to AA Harrisburg (0-5, 6.15 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 15/16 K/BB in 26.1 IP). He's a big 6'2" righty from East Tennessee, and he gets by showing decent control of mid-rotation stuff. Crowe has to acclimate to the upper minors, as he has proven that A ball hitting is no match for him. His combination of stuff and command is good enough for the upper levels, so it's just a matter of time and he should end up as a #4ish starter. 19 year old Mason Denaburg, meanwhile, was the team's first round pick (27th overall) out of a Florida high school in 2018, and he's all ceiling and no floor. Denaburg has the stuff to be a #2 or #3 starter, and his good athleticism only makes him more likely to become one, but he has not pitched yet due to arm troubles and he has a lot to prove. He should be healthy for 2019, so look for him to start either in Short Season ball or up at Class A Hagerstown, where he could quickly become the system's top pitching prospect with some success out of the gate. 23 year old Sterling Sharp, aside from having an awesome name, just put up a solid season by going 11-6 with a 3.70 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP, and a 105/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 148.1 innings between Potomac and Harrisburg. He wasn't spectacular, but he showed good enough stuff and command to fit into the back of the rotation, and while his skinny 6'4" frame logically lends itself to increased velocity down the line, at 23 years old he probably is what he is at this point. 25 year old James Bourque is exclusively a relief-only prospect, having found success in the bullpen after being converted from starting over the offseason. This year, he put up a 1.70 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and a 76/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 53 innings at Potomac and Harrisburg, showing a power fastball/curveball combination that is good enough to get major leaguers out but which he needs to command better. Expect him up in the majors as a middle reliever some time in 2019. 22 year old Jackson Tetreault was one of two Florida JuCo Jacksons taken by the Nationals in the middle rounds of the 2017 draft, and while Jackson Stoeckinger hasn't been great, Tetreault just put up a 4.07 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a 138/41 strikeout to walk ratio over 132.2 innings between Class A Hagerstown and Potomac. Tetrault has a very good fastball/curveball combination, and he could be a mid rotation or back end starter if his changeup comes along. If not, he fits well as a reliever and would move quicker through the minors that way, though the Nationals rightly hold out hope he could be a major league starter. 21 year old Reid Schaller was a third round pick (101st overall) out of Vanderbilt in 2018, and though he's a college arm, he's more of the projectable type than the safe-bet type. Schaller throws hard, but at this point, that's about it, as he doesn't command his average stuff well. The Nationals will hope to develop him as a starter, but he looks more like a set-up man to me.
Left Handed Pitchers: Seth Romero, Tim Cate, Nick Raquet, and Ben Braymer
Currently, the Nationals have four notable left handed pitchers in their system, and they're a fairly diverse group. 22 year old Seth Romero is probably the most interesting not only in this group but in the entire system, having thrown just 47.1 professional innings since he was drafted in the first round (25th overall) out of the University of Houston in 2017. A top ten draft pick on talent alone, he fell because of severe disciplinary issues (he was actually kicked off of his college baseball team after multiple suspensions) and had to miss the start of the 2018 minor league season after more disciplinary issues. In seven starts after coming back, he posted a 3.91 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a nice 34/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 25.1 innings at Class A Hagerstown, showing the possible front of the rotation stuff that earned him such a high draft pick. If he can just grow up a little bit, his excellent combination of stuff and command could make him a #2 starter, but he has to get on the mound and stay out of trouble at some point in order for that to happen. 21 year old Tim Cate was a second round pick (65th overall) out of UConn in 2018, and he posted a 5.02 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, and a 45/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 52 innings between Short Season Auburn and Hagerstown in his pro debut. Cate is an undersized lefty at 6', but his curveball was considered one of the best in the draft and that is a good building block for now. He was inconsistent throughout his college career, but when he was on, he looked like a legitimate mid-rotation starter who could mix pitches and work off that great curveball, so he just has to work on getting more consistent with his command and other pitches. He still could be a mid-rotation starter, but there is a chance he ends up in the bullpen, where he could still be an impact arm. 22 year old Nick Raquet was a third round pick (103rd overall) out of William & Mary in 2017, and at the time I thought he profiled better as a reliever than as a starter. He was pretty good as a starter in 2018 though, posting a 3.74 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, and a 92/39 strikeout to walk ratio over 122.2 innings between Hagerstown and High A Potomac. The low strikeout rate makes me think he still would look better as a reliever, where his stuff plays up and his command is better (based off of observations from watching him pitch in college), but it was nice to see him pitch well as a starter at Hagerstown then hold his own at Potomac. 24 year old Ben Braymer dominated mid level competition in 2018, going 9-3 with a 2.28 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and a 118/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 114.2 innings for Hagerstown and Potomac. He was older than most of the competition he faced, but he showed good command of average stuff and could make it to the majors as a #5 starter or a Sammy Solis-type long reliever. We need to see him at higher levels but don't count him out just for his age.
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