The 2023 NationalsProspects.com Watchlist

It seems so long ago that I first drew this up, and yet it was only a little more than a month ago.

Sadly, the two most notable changes are effectively dumpster dives – the selection of Thad Ward via the Rule 5 Draft, and picking up fallen-but-somehow-not-former prospect Jeter Downs, who lived up to his namesake by being overrated. (Editor: trolling Derek Jeter? Are you that desperate? Me: Um, maybe).

Let me see if I can detail the other changes:

• Added new column – ’22 Draft Picks
• Collapsed Notables into one column
• Added Onix Vega to C
• Deduped Branden Boisserie, Jared McKenzie
• Moved Yasel Antuna to Notables
• Added Erick Tejeda to 1B
• Added Gerardo Carrillo, Alfonso Hernández, and Cole Quintanilla to M*A*S*H
• Added Gabriel Agostini to LHP
• Added Carlos Romero, Jack Sinclair, and Jose Cedeno to RHP
• Amputated Pablo Aldonis’s arms and switched them from R to L
• Same for Seth Shuman, but the reverse, and added to M*A*S*H (Aldonis is a faster healer)
• Added Tim Cate, Marc Davis to Notables

It’s about two years too late, but expectations for 2023 for the big club are finally in line with what’s happened the past two Julys. (Well, most of them). As was the case when this site started, I expect more attention to be paid to “our guys” again, or at least once the new season’s bloom fades and the reality sets in.

Would I like to be wrong about that? Of course, I would. But I don’t think there’s any shame in rooting for a 65-70 win season after going 55-107. Settling into fourth or fifth place early reduces the odds of anyone being rushed up too soon.

Now the obligatory reminders about what this is (and isn’t):

• Most of these guys will not make it past High-A – Only a handful will make it to “The Show,” and most of those will be bench/role/reliever-types. Despite what the architects of the MiLB “renovation” argue, finding major-league players is a battle of attrition game that takes time and numbers.

• It’s not a depth chart – Players are listed primarily by the highest level they’ve played, minors or majors. I’ve been tempted to alphabetize by the last name to make this even more clear.

• It’s not a prediction of usage – The Nats like to play infielders at multiple positions in the DSL and FCL and it’s not unusual for some pitchers to both start and relieve for multiple seasons before their “role” is established. Remember, scouts will always tell you: Very few players play the position they did when they were drafted (see: Harper, Bryce; C/LHP).

Once my admin gets to it, this will be put in its place up top and on the sidebar. January will be spent cursing the number of RHPs building out the category pages.

When things are slow, I’ll let you know when I’ve completed some of the categories, but you can also check to see if a column header has been hyperlinked – that means it’s been finished.

As always, feel free to discuss this in the comments while we await the end of this cold snap (and try not to think about how we’ll pay for it next month).