8. Wil Crowe, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 9/9/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: Gulf Coast League Nationals, short-season A-ball Auburn Doubledays
2017 Stats: 9 GS, 24 1/3 IP, 2.96 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 4.2% BB, 17.7% K
Info: Crowe was dominant early in his collegiate career and entered the 2016 college season as one of the most intriguing arms to follow, but he ended up missing the entire 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery and chose to return to school, where he had flashes of brilliance for South Carolina before the Washington Nationals picked him in the 2nd round.
Crowe’s more than just a big arm, though he certainly does offer premium velocity, with a heavy fastball that runs up to 97 but typically works in the low-90s. He showed marked improvement in his draft season in his change over his freshman collegiate campaign, showing good arm deception, but still struggling with consistent movement on the pitch.
His offspeed pitches will be what determines how high Crowe can be in a rotation. Built strong and durable, he has shown a curve and slider that are at least average to above-average. His slider has flashed plus and the curve can certainly show better. If those pitches can tick up from average-ish to more like above-average to fringe-plus, he could bump his profile from a mid-rotation inning eater guy to a solid #2 starter.
The Washington Nationals have shown excellent ability with handling pitchers off of Tommy John, so it will be intriguing to see where they place Crow to open 2018, but it will most likely be an A-ball level with a chance to possibly finish the season in AA.
7. Daniel Johnson, OF
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 7/11/1995 (22)
2017 teams/levels played for: low-A Hagerstown Suns, high-A Potomac Nationals
2017 Stats: .298/.356/.505, 549 PA, 22 HR, 22 SB, 35/100 BB/K
Info: Even though he was coming out of college in the 2016 draft, Johnson was seen as a tool-heavy guy that could take some time to develop his tools into baseball-polished skills. The Washington Nationals pulled the trigger on Johnson in the 5th round.
Johnson has plus speed that he used to turn his hard contact into gaps into extra bases
Johnson didn’t do much in 2016 in his post-draft pro debut to dissuade those who thought he might take a few years to work through the low minors. However, he exploded onto the scene in 2017, and he very well could prove this ranking to be significantly low.
Johnson has fringe plus raw power that he was able to tap into much better this year, and part of tapping into that power was a more controlled approach in the box, which allowed him to have more consistent contact as well. Johnson has plus speed that he used to turn his hard contact into gaps into extra bases frequently as well.
There are still some things that Johnson needs to work on defensively to improve his consistency in the outfield, and he has a tendency to be over-aggressive at the plate, but Johnson has already shown a lot more than many thought he would this early, so if he heads to AA this season and needs two seasons at that level, he would still be worth that gamble for his immense raw talent to possibly all come to fruition.
Next: #5 and #6