As we ramp up to Opening Day we are seeing more and more prospects lists hit the interwebs. The latest to be released is from Baseball America, one of the first publications to focus their efforts on the lower-levels of professional baseball. Aside from other prospects lists, this one is done as a group effort amongst 8 of the BA writers where each writer complies a list of their 150 top prospects before they all get averaged into one group list.
I'll go through the Nats prospects on the list, but that's not what inspired me to write about this list. One of the writers for Baseball America, Jim Callis had the brilliant idea to release the list of all the names that appeared on at least 1 of the Top 150 lists including their peak position. It shows who is on the radar but just missed the cut.
Let's check out all the Nats that were represented.
#1 - Bryce Harper - OF - MLB ETA: 2012
#19 - Anthony Rendon - 3B - MLB ETA: 2013
That's it... But remember, Baseball America rated the Nationals as their #1 system is all of baseball prior to the Gio Gonzalez deal. Let's see where those pieces landed...
#36 - Brad Peacock
#57 - A.J. Cole
That would've been 4 top 60 prospects for the Nationals, including the #1 overall prospect.
Now, we get the to fun part. Let's check out the members of the Nats system that just missed the cut..
Alex Meyer - Named on 7 Ballots - Top Position: #77
Brian Goodwin - Named on all 8 Ballots - Top Position: #80
Sammy Solis - Named on 7 Ballots - Top Position: #88
Matt Purke - Named on 6 Ballots - Top Position: #91
Stephen Lombardozzi - Named on 2 Ballots - Top Position: #113
Alex Meyer is singled out on this list as the #1 player that "could make big moves on the 2013 list" - they say "With a fastball that touches 100 mph and a wicked slider, Meyer had one of the most electric arms in the 2011 draft. If he continues to progress as he did last spring as a Kentucky junior, he'll rush through the minors."
Those now with the A's...
Derek Norris - Named on 5 Ballots - Top Position: #101
So, the Nationals system has taken a huge hit in losing Peacock, Norris, Cole, and Milone to the Athletics but there are several players lurking just outside of the Top 100 with only Solis (Tommy John Surgery) and Lombardozzi (Eligibility) poised to not be on next year's list.
Despite losing several top prospects in a trade, the Nationals system is set to remain among the top farm systems in baseball due to the strength of their 2011 draft class. It should be fun to follow both the MLB and MiLB Nats this coming year!
We should remember none of the guys the Nats gave up are sure fire locks to be good Major Leaguers. Peacock had just one great year, Milone does not have great raw talent, Cole is a long way from being MLB ready and could get hurt or fail to master the higher levels, and Norris has been far more limited offensively the past couple of years than during his breakthrough year.
ReplyDeleteNot that I'll be rooting for them to fail, but we got a proven commodity in exchange for a bunch of hopes and dreams. Look at it this way, do Yankees fans really get that worked up about where their farm system gets rated, or are they more concerned with playoff positioning? I'd rather worry about the latter.