Hypothetical 2005 Washington Nationals

This following roster for the 2005 Washington Nationals assumes what the roster could've looked like if no players departed via free agency or trades.  In order to qualify, players must have originally signed with Washington as an international signing or through the amateur draft.

Please note that this post is meant to generate discussion on each teams' ability to develop and/or sign homegrown talent.  This team is fictional, and details like its economic feasability should be ignored.

Everyday Lineup:
CF Grady Sizemore
SS Orlando Cabrera
LF Jason Bay
RF Vlad Guerrero
C Michael Barrett
1B Jose Vidro
3B Ryan Zimmerman
2B Brandon Phillips
P Spot

Bench:
OF/1B Brad Wilkerson
3B Geoff Blum
OF Milton Bradley
OF Cliff Floyd
C Brian Schneider
2B/SS Mark Grudzielanek

Rotation:
Randy Johnson
Javier Vazquez
John Patterson
Cliff Lee
Shawn hill

Bullpen:
LR Kirk Rueter
LR Darrell Rasner
MR Jay Bergmann
MR Wes Littleton
SU Scott Strickland
CL Chad Cordero

Offense: My immediate observation of Washington's roster is the glut of outfield talent available.  Washington's bench outfielders (Bradley, Floyd, Wilkerson) could be better than most team's starters, and a few that had to be left off (Jerry Owens, Marquis Grissom, Rondell White) also could start for some teams.  As it stands, a starting outfield of Sizemore, Bay, and Vlad would agruably have the most offensive potential of any in the major leagues.  Jose Vidro plays slightly out of position (mainly a second baseman, but has played sparingly at first) because the only other first baseman (Brad Fullmer) retired in 2004.  Zimmerman makes a quick ascent to the starting lineup, Barrett provides solid offensive production at a premium position, and O-Cab is a solid contributor offensively and defensively.  One important note is that Brandon Phillips is placed in the 8 hole because in 2005 he had yet to show much offensive production, but he too will develop into one of the best offensive middle infielders in the game.

Bench: The aforementioned depth of the outfield is the obvious strength of this unit - this Washington team could regularly cycle its outfielders to give breathers to some of its aging stars, assuming of course Milton Bradley doesn't go postal on hearing the idea.  Blum and Grudzielanek provide infield depth, and Brian Schneider backs up Barrett.

Rotation: Health and age are the only factors that may keep this rotation from being one of the better staffs in all of baseball.  I believe Randy Johnson's plaque for Cooperstown is being minted as we speak, and John Patterson has shown the capability of being an above average starting pitcher if he could only stay healthy.  Javier Vazquez has been one of the more consistent starting pitchers in recent years, while you never know what version of Cliff Lee you're getting in any given year and Shawn Hill rounds out the rotation.

Bullpen: The age extremes of this bullpen is interesting - Rueter and Strickland will be playing in their last major league seasons, while everyone else has two years or less of ML experience (Littleton technically didn't make his ML debut until 2006 but would have been theoretically the best option coming out of camp).  Cordero was already developing into one of the NL's best closers in his first full season, but the rest of the pen is hardly an inspiring bunch.

The Montreal/Washington franchise has been well documented for habitually trading away its best talent before they cost the organization too much (perhaps setting the example for Florida's fire sales?) and this example showcases that the organization's scouting directors (which consistently get lambasted for having thin minor league systems) should not be at fault, but rather the executive staff and the circumstances surrounding the team's past 'contraction' should to blame.