Because I know you’d just scroll down to this anyway:
| 16. Jackson Tetrault | 21. Nick Raquet | 26. Austin Voth (10) |
| 17. Brigham Hill | 22. Kyle Johnston | 27. Joan Baez (29) |
| 18. Jose Marmolejos (26) | 23. Jose Sanchez (24) | 28. Anderson Franco (14) |
| 19. Drew Ward (12) | 24. Jefry Rodriguez | 29. Jakson Reetz (18) |
| 20. Taylor Gushue | 25. Telmito Agustin (28) | 30. Osvaldo Abreu (21) |
| THOSE WHO INSIST ON THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX… |
…ARE USUALLY BEHIND IN THE COUNT. |
31. Gabe Klobosits |
It was noted here last year and in the comments this year, but IFAs still dominate the list. Perhaps not coincidentally, this is the Nationals predominant source of teenage talent – just 11 signed, 45 drafted in the past five years; and five of those have been traded already.
As mentioned in the previous post, two of the nine newcomers weren’t pitchers: Daniel Johnson and Taylor Gushue. A tenth player that wasn’t on last year’s list is Jefry Rodriguez, who was on the list in 2016 and returns despite an 80-game suspension.
The rest are all pitchers taken in the 2017 Draft: Romero, Crowe, Tetrault, Brigham Hill, Raquet, Johnston, and Klobosits. All are 21 or older so the pressure will be on for them to move quickly up the ladder. And to be honest, there’s no one really blocking them.
Before we list the projected 2021 Nationals Lineup, let’s have a good laugh at the 2018 projected lineup from the 2015 handbook:
C – Wilson Ramos
1B – Ryan Zimmerman
2B – Tony Renda
SS – Ian Desmond
3B – Anthony Rendon
LF – Steven Souza
CF – Michael Taylor
RF – Bryce Harper
#1SP – Stephen Strasburg
#2SP – Jordan Zimmermann
#3SP – Lucas Giolito
#4SP – Doug Fister
#5SP – Gio Gonzalez
CL – Reynaldo Lopez
Three out of 14, five if you’re being generous about Strasburg and Gonzalez. Just your usual reminder about BA not taking into account free agency (Desmond), injuries (Ramos), trades (Giolito, Lopez, Souza), or a sudden decline in skills (Zimmermann, Fister).
Keep that in mind for this projection:
C – Raudy Read
1B – Daniel Murphy
2B – Wilmer Difo
SS – Trea Turner
3B – Anthony Rendon
LF – Adam Eaton
CF – Victor Robles
RF – Bryce Harper
#1SP – Stephen Strasburg
#2SP – Max Scherzer
#3SP – Joe Ross
#4SP – Erick Fedde
#5SP – Wil Crowe
CL – Seth Romero
We now return you to your baseball-less Saturday…