The World Series Champion Washington Nationals came from the wild card game to win the World Series. This organization has produced some of the best baseball players in the game, names like Harper, Rendon, Soto, and Strasburg. The Nationals have some young players that could prove to be stars but are still at least two years away from joining the big-league roster. However, the Nationals have shown they are not scared to bring up a young player if they can show they are ready like Soto did.
Carter Kieboom (SS)
Maybe a better real-life player than a fantasy player as he does not do any one thing overly well. Kieboom’s prospect status peaked at the beginning of last year when in his first 18 games in the majors, he slashed .379/.506/.636. However, the stint in the majors did not last long as he was sent down after only 11 games. He finished 2019 with a solid slash line overall in AAA at .303/.409/.493. Kieboom’s best asset may be that he can play multiple positions, which gives him a better chance of sticking in the majors. His future playing time took with the Nationals signing Asdrubal Cabrera and Starlin Castro. The Nationals still have a reliable pitching staff and are trying to compete. I can see Kieboom being an excellent utility player, similar to what Ben Zobrist was throughout his career.
Luis Garcia (SS)
Is young and exciting. The Nationals aggressively assigned Garcia to AA at his age 19 season, where he was the youngest player in the league. His numbers struggled due to the aggressive assignment as he slashed .257/.280.337. At this stage in his career, Garcia is much more of a contact hitter, but scouts do see room for him to add strength and be able to hit for more power. Garcia projects to be a high average hitter who could potentially add 20 Home Runs and 10+ stolen bases. His best position could end up being second base with the ability to fill in at shortstop when needed.
Jackson Rutledge (RHP)
Drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2019 MLB draft. Rutledge has the ceiling to be a substantial number two in an MLB rotation. The main thing that will hold him back is if he cannot improve his control. After being drafted, Rutledge pitched a total of 37.1 innings, of which 27.1 of them came at full-season A ball. In those 27.1 innings, he had a 2.30 ERA 31 Ks and 11 BBs. Rutledge scouting grades are a 70-grade fastball, 60-grade slider, 55-grade curveball, and a 45-grade changeup. The fastball sits 94-97 and can reach triple digits; he throws his slider in the high-80s and can be a perfect strikeout pitch with a 12-6 curveball. Rutledge stands 6’8″ 250 lbs, so there is no question if he can handle the workload of a starter, it is just a matter of improving control as the stuff is there.
Names to watch for 2020 –
Wil Crowe (RHP)
Crowe is 25 years old and has yet to crack the big-league roster but could join the Nationals roster early on in 2020. He projects to be a bottom of the rotation arm with a 4-pitch mix of fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. Crowe will need to improve control and keep hitters off-balance with useful pitch sequencing.
Andry Lara (RHP)
Lara is a 17-year-old prospect that signed July 2nd, 2019, from Venezuela. He is 6’3″ 210 pounds. He sits 92-94 with his fastball and touched 96 mph. Lara is several years away from the majors but could develop into a front of the rotation arm.
I am always open to discuss and answer questions on Twitter @DraftHouseNow