May 25, 2013
Comprehensive coverage of Washington, D.C. sports by local writers
Welcome back to District Sports Page’s weekly Minor League Update. Every Monday throughout the regular season we will continue to post up-to-date stats and brief scouting reports on the hottest and coldest prospects in the Nationals’ minor league system. We also will track the progress of top-rated players in this columb, and give injury and suspension updates.
Here are some of the system’s notable performances from the first week of May:
Welcome back to District Sports Page’s weekly Minor League Update. Every Monday throughout the regular season we will continue to post up-to-date stats and brief scouting reports on the hottest and coldest prospects in the Nationals’ minor league system. We also will track the progress of top-rated players, and give injury and suspension updates.
With April coming to a close, the Nationals’ organization is looking pretty strong from top to bottom. The big club is off to a decent 13-12 start. But more importantly, they’re looking strong and equipped to perform at a high level for the duration of the season. Their key players are all healthy, and their crop of young stars continues to move forward at a healthy pace.
Bryce Harper not only appears to have avoided (knock on wood) a slumping sophomore season, but he looks to be putting it all together even earlier than anyone could have hoped. The same goes for their young rotation, which is firing on all cylinders. And while Ryan Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos are sitting on the DL with minor injuries, the Nats used their system to overcome their temporary absence quite effectively. Luckily though, both players are on their way back anyway.
Welcome back to District Sports Page’s weekly Minor League Update. Every Monday throughout the regular season we will continue to post up-to-date stats and brief scouting reports on the hottest and coldest prospects in the Nationals’ minor league system. We also will track the progress of top-rated players, and give injury and suspension updates.
So far this season, the Nationals’ minor league system has continued to be one of the most productive and exciting in pro baseball. Flashy young stars like Brian Goodwin and Anthony Rendon are off to loud starts, while an arms race of young pitchers has torn-through opposing lineups, resulting in heaps of strikeouts.
Things got even more interesting on Saturday though. The Nationals announced that they had promoted Rendon, who is widely considered one of the premier prospects in minors, to Washington to make his highly anticipated MLB debut. While the former Dick Howser Award winner was originally slated to spend at least the first few months of the regular season in the minors at double-A Harrisburg, Ryan Zimmerman’s recent injury and Rendon’s hot-hitting apparently forced the front office’s hand. Regardless, this is yet another exciting development in a system full of exciting developments. Rendon follows a long line of homegrown stars on the Nats big-league roster, graduating after the likes of Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmermann, Drew Storen, Bryce Harper and others.
Though Rendon’s promotion has grabbed the attention of the Nats faithful, the club has plenty of other thrilling minor-league storylines. Here are a few of them–hot off the presses:
With full-season teams now in to the second-week of their 2013 campaigns, clubs are starting to get a feel for their minor-league talent. Many re-buidling big league teams are preparing to call-up their top prospects in just a couple of more weeks, when arbitration rules will fall in their favor. Contending clubs like the Nationals are less inclined to make front-page moves so early in the season, but they too are keeping an eye on their young’ins. They’re trying to get a read on what these players are worth in preparation for a mid-season trade, and they’re definitely looking for someone who can contribute in the event they need to to patch a hole internally.
The Nationals, who are now 8-5 with their win over the Marlins on Monday night, are very comfortable with their Major League roster. Outside of a few bullpen/bench tweaks they might be preparing to make–like adding an effective left-handed relief pitcher for instance–they probably aren’t going to replace one of their veteran big leaguers with any of their prized prospects just yet. Of course, things will change quickly if one of their stars suffers a serious injury.
As Mike Rizzo proved last season with Bryce Harper, he isn’t afraid to call-up one of his young stars when the club needs a boost. There’s an outside shot that top prospects like Anthony Rendon and Brian Goodwin could be in the Majors by mid-summer, while other promising minor leaguers like Danny Rosenbaum, Christian Garcia, Eury Perez and Zach Walters could contribute earlier.
Two weeks in to the 2013 season, here are some of the notable performances from the Washington Nationals minor league system:
Brian Goodwin
Center Field
Bats/Throws: Left/Right
Height/Weight: 6’1″/200lbs
Comparable MLB Players: Ray Lankford, Grady Sizemore, Andy Van Slyke, Michael Tucker
| Present | Future | |
| Hitting Ability | 4 | 6 |
| Raw Power | 5 | 6 |
| Power Frequency | 4 | 6 |
| Plate Discipline | 5 | 6 |
| Running Speed | 7 | 7 |
| Baserunning | 4 | 5 |
| Arm Strength | 6 | 6 |
| Arm Accuracy | 3 | 5 |
| Fielding | 4 | 5 |
| Range | 6 | 7 |
| Overall | 5 | 6 |
Zach Walters
Shortstop
Height/Weight: 6’3”/210 lbs
Born: 9/5/1989
Bats/Throws: Both/Right
Comparable MLB Players: Jason Barlett, Adam Kennedy, Omar Infante, Erick Aybar, Brandon Crawford
Scouting Grades
| Present | Future | |
| Hitting Ability | 4 | 5 |
| Raw Power | 4 | 5 |
| Power Frequency | 3 | 4 |
| Plate Discipline | 3 | 4 |
| Running Speed | 5 | 5 |
| Baserunning | 4 | 5 |
| Arm Strength | 7 | 7 |
| Arm Accuracy | 4 | 6 |
| Fielding | 4 | 6 |
| Range | 5 | 6 |
| Overall | 4 | 5 |
Baseball America released the 2013 edition of their popular annual Top 100 Prospects List today. Three Washington Nationals prospects, Anthony Rendon (No. 30), Lucas Giolito (No. 67) and Brian Goodwin (No. 70) ranked.
Fourteen organizations had more prospects on the list, with the Cardinals, Marlins and Twins leading the way with six each. Behind the Marlins, the Nationals were second among NL East division clubs. The Mets had three prospects listed, while the Braves and Phillies had two a piece.
All three of the Nats that ranked were first-round draft picks.The club took Lucas Giolito with the 16th overall pick last June. The year before, Rendon and Goodwin were selected sixth and 34th overall. The Nats actually drafted Alex Meyer (No. 59) between them, at 23rd overall, but traded him to the Twins for Denard Span this offseason.
Along with Trevor Rosenthal (No. 39), Brian Goodwin was one of two included prospects selected out of junior college.
In their “Top 100: Best Tools” article, which names the prospects with the most impressive skills, BA rated Lucas Giolito as having the third-best fastball among the Top 100, and the second-best curveball. That’s high praise for the eighteen-year-old kid; especially considering the Nats only drafted him out of high school last June, and he threw just two innings in his Aug. 14th professional debut before leaving with a sprained elbow.
Anthony Michael Rendon
Third Baseman
Height/Weight: 5’11”/200 LBS
Born: 6/6/1990
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Comparable MLB Players: Edgardo Alfonzo, Ron Santo, John Valentin, Martin Prado
Scouting Grades [Read more...]
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