NationalsProspects.com

The NationalsProspects.com Top 10 Position Players


While the participation wasn’t what I hoped it would be, it was enough to assemble a semi-decent Top 10 list.

One interesting trend is that youth seems to be getting served by virtue of Jakson Reetz as well as Dominican imports Wilmer Difo and Rafael Bautista, both of whom had breakout seasons with Hagerstown, with the former being added to the Nats 40-man roster.

Of course, some of that is attributable to three of last year’s Top 10 bats being traded away (Billy Burns, Zach Walters) or taken in the Rule 5 Draft (Adrian Nieto). And some of that is attributable to the “girl-watching” nature of prospect following (the prettiest one is the one that just walked by).

Anyway, a total of 15 players were named on the eight ballots received or submitted, which does include mine. I don’t find the 15 number all that disturbing since, as some put it, the bottom part of the list isn’t as clear-cut as the top, which was a near tie (77 points to 75 points) with Steve Souza the top pick on five.

And with that “said,” I present the list:

                              1. Steve Souza
                              2. Michael Taylor
                              3. Wilmer Difo
                              4. Drew Ward
                              5. Jakson Reetz
                              6. Brian Goodwin
                              7. Matt Skole
                              8. Spencer Kieboom
                              9. Rafael Bautista
                              10. Pedro Severino

Others receiving votes: Tony Renda, Drew Vettleson, John Wooten, Stephen Perez, Raudy Read

I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that half of these names won’t be on this list next year, given proximity to the majors, age, or “trade baitiness.” It’s tempting to conclude that that means we’re about to swing Broadway backward, but if past is prologue, those that move on will be replaced with players who had breakout seasons.

Next up: The pitchers, which always leads to much more discussion (dissension?)…

14 Commments

  1. For some of us , this list just gets us to
    Rule 5 day on 11 th so we can see who might
    Get selected off big board.
    This inquiring mind , Luke, wonder if Kevin
    Keyes would be number 11 if you expanded your list
    By a couple ???

  2. I was totally going to add in my two cents, but then a thing came up… so you can rest assured that ‘real’ participation should have been 9 ballots.

    I like the list above. I am kind of low on Goodwin at this point and higher on Skole (his OBP was still good, power should return… I hope), so I’d have flipped them.

  3. In the course of making a comment about the “others receiving votes,” I realized I made a mistake and miscalculated Severino’s votes, which bumped Tony Renda. What I was going to remark is that for most of these “also rans” it would have taken the ballot of a family member (i.e. ranking them in the top three) or MASN Commenter (i.e. ranking them high along with others that you have to be high to vote for) to make the list.

  4. Luke, you should have given everyone more time, it’s only been 2 days. I figured you weren’t counting the ballots for another 3-5 days.
    Maybe you couldn’t wait for the streetfighting over the arms? 🙂

  5. Luke: tommy shields joins whom as co- field
    Coordinator ? His career highlight for nats
    Fans is his trade for Tony Beasley ….

  6. Sorry I posted it in another thread also but can you add a little on why Pedro Severino is so high on the list? Also, can you add some insight on Tony Renda’s future?

    1. Sure – Severino is the Nats best catching prospect, though followed closely by Jakson Reetz. His value is primarily on defense, but in the second half of this past season, he began to hit. Longtime followers are familiar with the mantra that catcher who can hit is like a model that can cook. Should Severino’s bat catch up to his glove, which is very good, but has his moments of yip, he’ll be a threat to displace Lobaton. Should he develop more power, Ramos.

      Mind you, those are VERY BIG IFs. There are plenty of defensively oriented catchers that don’t learn to hit or max out.

      1. Wow. I just don’t know where all of the scouting takes place on Severino because when I have seen him play it has been quite awful. He does have a strong arm but not very good accuracy and is probably a little below average in getting balls out of the dirt. Craig Manuel certainly out performs him defensively.

        1. Well, I only saw Severino play 35 or 40 games, Manuel maybe 10 times, so I could be wrong, but Severino is a notch above Manuel in just about every phase of the game defensively.

  7. I would like to personally apologize to Michael “BATMAN” Taylor for not logging in frequently enough to submit a ballot and vault him into first place. You’ve showed up for me with the bat, 3HR game, and MLB debut dinger. I have failed you, Michael, and humbly ask for your forgiveness.

    1. That’s OK SD – I am lamenting my missing the vote, and my ballot for Souza would have returned him to the top 🙂

      I won’t lie; the K’s concern me with “Batman.”

    1. He has very little power and isn’t a defensive whiz, so he’s going to have to get on base a lot and use his speed to compensate for his shortcomings (pun perhaps intended). Next year will be an important test due to his age and the Nats need for MIs.

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