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MLB Minor League System Rankings – The Middle

By Benjamin Chase

Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2016; National Harbor, MD, USA; A general view of stage microphones on day three of the 2016 Baseball Winter Meetings at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

22. Washington Nationals

The Nationals pushed hard for their 2017 and 2018 teams by trading away a lot of their best minor league pieces for players for the 2016 run along with trading for outfielder Adam Eaton. They’re also reportedly still looking for more pieces and willing to move guys to do that, so they could see themselves fall down this list further if they thin out their system farther.

However, it’s hard not to take note of a few things the Nationals have done well recently that should keep them from the bottom group of the rankings – grab excellent Latin players like Robles and Juan Soto, develop back end rotation depth like Tanner Roark, A.J. Cole, Austin Voth, and more, and work guys from Tommy John surgery like Lucas Giolito before he was traded and Erick Fedde.

Elite prospects – I only considered three players for my top 125 from the Nationals, which was half of what I originally considered from their system before trades, but one of those is a top 10 overall guy, so that automatically helps a system.

System depth in legit prospects – While there are not a ton of guys who profile as legit every day infielders right now outside of a ridiculous amount of depth in third basemen in the system (seriously 4 of them on my top 10 list), the team does have two high end outfield prospects along with a number of guys who project wella t the back of a rotation.

Proximity to majors of legit prospects – The Nationals saw only three of their top 10 make at least AA in 2016, but one contributed to the major leagues, and all three who were at AA should see some major league time in 2017.

System reputation – The Nationals have developed a good reputation for finding and developing Latin bats, though they tend to do a lot of swing-and-miss in that market, spreading a wide net and seeing who rises from the crop each year, which isn’t exactly a bat method.

On their pitching, the Nationals have received some criticism from some sources for the struggles of Giolito, but their same approaches really allowed Reynaldo Lopez to turn the corner from thrower to pitcher in 2016, and it’s allowed Fedde to add in innings in his TJS return. Many are very confident in the ability of Jesus Luzardo in reaching his ceiling coming back from TJS in the Nationals system as well.

Top 5 Born 1991 or since (age 25 season this year)
1. Bryce Harper
2. Trea Turner
3. Joe Ross
4. Victor Robles
5. Michael Taylor

Next: #21

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