Baseball America Ranks The Top 10 Nats Prospects

On Tuesday, the Orioles saw their first 2022 Top 10 list released by Baseball America on the afternoon before Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday. Yesterday, BA gave similar treatment to the Nationals on the off day between Game 2 and 3, with the release of the first 2022 Top 10 List:

1. Keibert Ruiz, C (deadline trade)
2. Cade Cavalli, RHP (1)
3. Brady House, SS (’21 Draft Pick)
4. Yasel Antuna, TBD (4)
5. Andry Lara, RHP (5)
6. Cole Henry, RHP (3)
7. Joan Adon, RHP (23)
8. Gerardo Carrillo, RHP (deadline trade)
9. Jackson Rutledge, RHP (2)
10. Armando Cruz, SS (’21 IFA)

Faux outrage aside—Yes, the Rizzo Rebuild made the Organization better, but they only had one way to go, too. This is the second straight year that the Top 10 has turned over by half… and NOT due to graduations.

Anyone who faults the ranking of Ruiz as the [Casey Kasem voice]new No. 1[/Kasem] can go right back to the maw of the MASN Comments. TBH, I thought he had hit the mark (130PA) for disqualification by its standards (he’s already graduated by MLB standards). So his reign will end one way or the other in April 2022, as it’s pretty clear he’s the Nats starting catcher for the foreseeable future.

Had BA put House ahead of Cavalli, I would not have been surprised nor would I have argued. It’s been ages since the Nats made a HS pick that had more going for him than his DOB.

But, like your average downtown ballpark after five blocks or so, things start to get sketchy. Antuna was touted as all that and a bag of chips this time last year, and apparently, two good months out of five is enough to retain the #4 spot. I’m not saying he might not be a Top 10 prospect in this system but in the immortal words of George Oscar Bluth II…Oh, come on!.

In its Top 10 chat, BA’s case for Antuna (italics mine):

It was a tale of two seasons for Antuna. He got off to a 4-for-67 start, and so even though he got hot in the middle of the season, he was never totally able to come out of that hole. I talked to enough people who believed in the bat to think that his second-half form was more real than the slump of the first half. Remember that he had only played three total games since the 2018 season. That’s a lot of rust to knock off, and I think that’s what we saw in his slow start. He’s moving to the corner outfield full time now, and I think he’s got a real chance to hit enough for that.

Hence, the TBD for a position.

Most of the chat questions seem to have come from the ilk that is fantasy baseball “owners” – will Prospect X eventually be a [position/role]? – but I think folks here may be pleased to learn the folks at BA are high on Cole Henry, despite his being dropped beneath players who were objectively worse this past summer. But they also agree with one “chatter” who said that 6-10 would be ranked 15-25 in other orgs:

One through three in this system is legit and stacks up well with the one through three in most other systems. But things get much dicier beginning at number four, so I would say most of the rest of the top 10 would be slotted lower in other systems, yes.

With that, I’ll direct folks to the comments to talk amongst yourselves…