Middle Infielders

Yasel Antuna   Yasel Antuna
Born: 10/26/99
Ht. 6′
Wt. 170
Bats: S
Throws: R
Career Stats
A $3.85M price tag, an add to the 40-man roster, and house-organ hype has brought Antuna back to the Watchlist in a positional category for the first time since 2018. With the graduations of Carter Kiebom and Luis Garcia, he’s now the Nats’ top position player prospect. The power has reportedly turned on from both sides of the plate, and folks are telling BA that his strike-zone judgment and ability to recognize and hit offspeed pitches have both improved.
Jackson Cluff   Jackson Cluff
Born: 12/3/96
Ht. 6′
Wt. 185
Bats: L
Throws: R
Career Stats
Perhaps most troubling is that Cluff has played in just one of the past four seasons, having taken a Mormon mission in 2017-18 and missing 2020. While he posted a .327/.458/.518 line for BYU (53G) and a .229/.320/.367 (62G) in that one season (2019), he’ll still be 24 and not in AA to start 2021. He profiles as a classic shortstop: not much power, but athletic, and an above-average runner.
J.T. Arruda   J.T. Arruda
Born: 10/20/97
Ht. 5’10”
Wt. 180
Bats: L
Throws: R
Career Stats
Arruda, an 11th Rd. pick out of Fresno state in 2019, spent all of 2019 at SS-A Auburn. There are reports he’s converting to the outfield, but he was a SS in college and played there as well as 2B and 3B for the Doubledays. Reliable scouting reports are few, complicated by a sibling who was also a prospect. The younger Arruda struggled early (.138 BA in June) before finding a groove late (.284 in August).
Junior Martina   Junior Martina
Born: 12/12/97
Ht. 5’11”
Wt. 190
Bats: R
Throws: R
Career Stats
Martina was the fourth National to sign from Western Oklahoma State College since 2010. The Curaçao native torched the GCL at a .338/.461/.515 clip efore going 3-for-17 over four games for Auburn in late August. Like most JuCo players, there’s very little to be found beyond his basic bio and photo, so this is definitely scouting by boxscore.
Viandel Peña   Viandel Peña
Born: 11/22/00
Ht. 5’8″
Wt. 148
Bats: S
Throws: R
Career Stats
A 2017 IFA with a $150K price tag, Peña first made the watchlist as a “DSL Bat” in 2019, largely on strength of a .386 OBP. In 2020, he improved to a .455 OBP while boosting his BA and and SLG nos. more than 100 pts apiece. He’s pegged as a glove-first defender with little power, and with just 10 steals in 102G it would appear he’s not terribly fast as one might expect from his size.