2007 Washington Nationals Prospects

by John Sickels on Nov 17, 2006 9:31 PM EST in News

Chris Marrero, OF, Grade B+ (solid all-around bat)
Kory Casto, 3B-OF, Grade B (old for Double-A but I think he will hit)
Colton Willems, RHP, Grade B (very young, a long way from the majors)
Zech Zinicola, RHP, Grade B (will get there a lot faster than Willems but ceiling not as high)
Shairon Martis, RHP, B (this is a generous grade but I like his arm)
Shawn Hill, RHP, C+ (gets grounders)
Matt Chico, LHP, C+ (number four starter perhaps)
Garrett Mock, RHP, C+ (good arm but shaky results)
Glenn Gibson, LHP,C+ (like Willems, promising but a long way away)
Jhonny Nunez, RHP, C+ (see Gibson and Willems)
Stephen King, SS, C+ (Good name but bat a question)
Larry Broadway, 1B, C (getting old, needs a position)
Collin Balester, RHP, C (good arm, terrible numbers)
Clint Everts, RHP, C (good arm, terrible numbers)
Brett Campbell, RHP, C (decent middle relief type)
Ian Desmond, SS, C (I don't think he will hit)
Alexis Morales, RHP, C (can't throw strikes)
Josh Whitesell, 1B, C (85% as good as Broadway)
Dee Brown Mark II, OF, C
Marco Estrada, RHP, C

Other Grade C prospects include Rogearvin Bernadina, OF; Adam Carr, RHP; Roy Corcoran, RHP; Frank Diaz, OF; Stephen Englund, OF; Devan Ivany, C; John Lannan, LHP; Salomon Manriquez, C; Justin Maxwell, OF: Yunior Novoa, LHP; and Cory Van Allen, LHP. None of these guys are terrific prospects at this point, and all of them are interchangeable with slots 15 through 20, depending on what you want to emphasize.

The Nationals Farm System in One Sentence: This might be the worst farm system in the game right now, although the 2006 draft and some recent forays into Latin America (Esmylie Gonzalez) are good signs.

Note: ALL GRADES ARE PRELIMINARY. There is a lot of slack in the B-/C+ range and players may move up and down depending on how my thinking progresses. Feel free to make comments, point out sleepers I may have missed, etc. Note that there is only a limited amount of space in the book, and the max I can do is 35-36 players per team.

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Comments

Marrerro

I know it seems wrong to not give ANYONE in a system higher than a B, but does Marrero actually seem good enough to be a B+?

by Brickhaus on Nov 17, 2006 10:13 PM EST reply actions

The best addition to the Nationals farm system

Mike Rizzo. I'm sad that he decided to leave Arizona but there should at least be some progress in Washington beginning with the 2007 draft.
It's scary that Chico and Mock at 7 and 8 probably would be near the bottom of the D-backs Top 20 if at all, had they not been traded.

by William K @ Minor League Ball on Nov 17, 2006 10:19 PM EST reply actions

not that he's great

but I think you put Balester too low. He picked it up in the second half....he's big and projectable. He's at least a C+ for me.

by vaclipper on Nov 17, 2006 10:34 PM EST reply actions

LA SS

What about Esmylie Gonzalez? he signed for like 1.4 million and certainly deserved at least a mention because theres really no one else to talk about.

by wir963 on Nov 17, 2006 10:55 PM EST reply actions

gonzalez

at this point we have no idea how good he will really be, but I should have mentioned him, yes.

by John Sickels on Nov 18, 2006 10:29 AM EST up reply actions

Martis

Wow! I find it hard to believe that the Nats system is much worse than the Giants. This makes me wonder where you would rank Martis in the Giants system had he not been traded. IMO, the Martis/Stanton trade was just horrible for the Giants. I know that Martis is not a Matt Cain or Tim Lincecum level prospect, but he is a prospect and I am still just seething over that trade. It's a microcosm of Sabean's last 4-5 years as GM.

by DrBGiantsfan on Nov 18, 2006 12:14 AM EST reply actions

Watch out...

for some Clint Everts next year.

And wow thats a crappy farm system.

by SenorGato88 on Nov 18, 2006 7:11 AM EST reply actions

Canadian Orders

Any update on when Canadians can pre-order the book?

by okbluejays on Nov 18, 2006 8:57 AM EST reply actions

fix

we should have it fixed by Monday. I will make an annoucement.

by John Sickels on Nov 18, 2006 10:28 AM EST up reply actions

Terrible in 2k6, now almost mediocre

Only Casto and Hill are holdovers from last year's book in the top 11. So 9 new entries in the top 11 from last year's draft (Willems, Marrero, Zinny, Gibson & King) and trades (Martis, Chico, Mock, Nunez).

Would seem to say definite improvement, but still not out of the bottom 10 farm systems. Last year based on your book, they were a solid bottom 3.

Wonder where Sean Black would have fit in, top 5?

by VladiHondo on Nov 18, 2006 11:15 AM EST reply actions

i'm still pissed off about black

i've got no idea why he isn't playing in a junior college this season trying to raise his stock as a draft and follow. pedro beato and bryan morris were two players who both raised their stock greatly by going to a junior college. by waiting one year, they both moved into the first round.

even if black didn't raise his stock at all this season, he would still have the option of going to hofstra at the end of the year.

i cannot believe that he went the route of going to a four year school. it boggles my mind.

it's a bad strategy to base your lineup on the relative beauty of a man's outs rather than the rate at which he makes them.

by overlord on Nov 18, 2006 2:11 PM EST up reply actions

Marco Estrada

made Baseball America's top 10 prospects in the Hawaiian Winter League after finishing second in that league in ERA. BA compared him to Ian Kennedy in terms of his stuff and profile, without Kennedy's pedigree.

He had a separated shoulder, which knocked him out of the first two months of the season and hindered his effectiveness thereafter. I can see having him as a C given all of that, but I could see him rocketing up the list quickly.

Mike Emeigh http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/minor_key/

by MikeE on Nov 19, 2006 8:17 PM EST reply actions

Willems

I know he's young and he didn't pitch much in the GCL (just 16 innings), but for someone with as live an arm as he reportedly has to fan just one guy every other inning and to be as hittable as he was...those aren't good signs.

Mike Emeigh http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/minor_key/

by MikeE on Nov 19, 2006 8:22 PM EST reply actions

Agreed, but ...

The Nationals were exceedingly cautious with Willems in 2006. He was on a strict pitch count and it would not surprise me if they also limited him to a certain number of non-fastballs per appearance as well. I believe they were erring on the side of caution.

The rumor is that Willems & Marrero are going to be placed in Low A Hagerstown in 2007. It will be worth watching to see if his K numbers increase.

by NFA Brian on Nov 20, 2006 8:04 AM EST up reply actions