The Nationals’ best position player prospects are a few years away. But they’re out there.
Juan Soto remains to be simply 22 years previous. Victor Robles and Carter Kieboom are 23. Luis García received’t flip 21 till May. They had been all prime prospects in latest seasons. They had been all fast-tracked by General Manager Mike Rizzo, who has now used Justin Upton, Bryce Harper, Soto and the remainder to point out he’s prepared to advertise children, actually, in the event that they will help his group win. But as a result of Soto, Robles, Kieboom and García had been every within the majors this previous summer season — and have aged out of “prospect status” — the Nationals have a hole between them and their subsequent era of younger position gamers.
Who is in that group? Who is stacked beneath pitchers reminiscent of Rutledge, Cade Cavalli, Cole Henry and Andry Lara, amongst different arms? When these questions had been posed to him, Mark Scialabba, the Nationals’ assistant basic supervisor in control of player growth, offered two center infielders, a catcher, a left-handed-hitting first baseman and a trio of teenage outfielders.
“There’s a few guys, really,” Scialabba stated of who’s climbing up the system. “Now, we have that gap, as you mentioned, between Kieboom and García and these A-ball type players. But they’re coming.”
There had been no large surprises on Scialabba’s listing. All of the gamers he talked about are ranked in MLB Pipeline’s most recent top 30 for the Nationals. Most of them additionally present up in rankings launched by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus in 2020. But he was fast to say Yasel Antuna, a 21-year-old infielder from the Dominican Republic, and appeared very enthusiastic about how Antuna carried out the previous few months on the membership’s alternate coaching web site in Fredericksburg, Va., after which within the fall educational league in West Palm Beach, Fla.
“He repeats his swing from both sides extremely well. There’s legitimate impact-bat potential there — and he’s healthy now,” Scialabba stated of Antuna, who missed most of 2019 with an elbow harm. “So we’re starting to see his tools play. We’re very excited about what he did this year.”
Altuna is a switch-hitting shortstop who may shift to 3rd base or second base down the road, if wanted. Jackson Cluff, the subsequent player listed by Scialabba, is a equally versatile shortstop who bats from the left aspect. Cluff, 23, was drafted by the Nationals out of Brigham Young University in 2019.
Both Altuna and Cluff match one of many Nationals’ organizational developments: They like to gather and develop shortstops who can later transfer across the infield. Trea Turner, for instance, performed some second and a few middle area earlier than settling in because the franchise shortstop. Kieboom, one other lifelong shortstop, is now getting his shot to stay at third. And García, who was MLB’s youngest player for a part of the summer season, was the on a regular basis second baseman after Starlin Castro broke his wrist. García, like Turner and Kieboom, is a true shortstop. Antuna and Cluff are, too, and but that doesn’t imply they may at all times play there.
After Altuna and Cluff, Scialabba turned to Drew Mendoza, Israel Pineda and people three younger outfielders: Daniel Marte (18 years previous), Jeremy De La Rosa (additionally 18) and Roismar Quintana (17). Mendoza, a second-round decide in 2019, was a three-year third baseman at Florida State. The Nationals have made him a full-time first baseman, although Scialabba likes that Mendoza may moonlight at third in a pinch. He is a left-handed hitter with potential energy, a plus for any group, and completed final summer season with the low-Class A Hagerstown Suns.
Pineda is a 20-year-old catcher from Venezuela. Washington has keyed on him for a few years now, ever since he obtained common begins with the Class A Auburn Doubledays in 2018 and caught the entrance workplace’s consideration. But after beginning pitchers, catcher is the position Washington takes essentially the most time with. If that development holds, Pineda is a few prospect cycles from being thought-about for the most important league roster. It can nonetheless be important that he’s laying a robust basis.
“He has a knack for the barrel on the ball and uses the whole field and is starting to mature defensively,” Scialabba stated of Pineda. “And he’s really just learning the position still, and all phases, but we’re high on him.”
The similar goes for Marte, De La Rosa and Quintana, besides the Nationals sometimes transfer outfielders sooner. That relies upon, in fact, on how these three progress within the subsequent few years. Scialabba famous Marte’s pace and arm. With De La Rosa, a prospect Scialabba first pointed to within the spring of 2019, the membership sees athleticism and a creating left-handed bat. And with Quintana, the youngest player Scialabba named, the Nationals heard the proper noises off his bat this fall.
Remember, Scialabba prefaced this all by calling Antuna, Cluff, Mendoza and Pineda “A-ball type players.” That means they’re not fairly on the most important league doorstep. That means De La Rosa, Marte and Quintana are a step or two behind that. But it’s by no means too early to mission.
“He’s really young,” Scialabba stated of Quintana. “But he’s a physical, powerful corner outfielder. His hands stay inside the baseball extremely well, he has a feel for the strike zone, and he had as loud of a bat that we had at our Instructional League camp. We’re really excited about his potential.”
