2007 Washington Nationals Prospects

2007 Washington Nationals Prospects

1. Chris Marrero, OF, Grade B+ (solid all-around bat)
   
2. Kory Casto, 3B-OF, Grade B (old for Double-A but I think he will hit)
   
3. Colton Willems, RHP, Grade B (very young, a long way from the majors)
   
4. Zech Zinicola, RHP, Grade B (will get there a lot faster than Willems but ceiling not as high)
   
5. Shairon Martis, RHP, B (this is a generous grade but I like his arm)
   
6. Shawn Hill, RHP, C+ (gets grounders)
   
7. Matt Chico, LHP, C+ (number four starter perhaps)
   
8. Garrett Mock, RHP, C+ (good arm but shaky results)
   
9. Glenn Gibson, LHP,C+ (like Willems, promising but a long way away)
   
10. Jhonny Nunez, RHP, C+ (see Gibson and Willems)
    
11. Stephen King, SS, C+ (Good name but bat a question)
    
12. Larry Broadway, 1B, C (getting old, needs a position)
    
13. Collin Balester, RHP, C (good arm, terrible numbers)
    
14. Clint Everts, RHP, C (good arm, terrible numbers)
    
15. Brett Campbell, RHP, C (decent middle relief type)
    
16. Ian Desmond, SS, C (I don't think he will hit)
    
17. Alexis Morales, RHP, C (can't throw strikes)
    
18. Josh Whitesell, 1B, C (85% as good as Broadway)
    
19. Dee Brown Mark II, OF, C
    
20. 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.