Three Nationals Prospects Named In Start Of FanSided’s Rankings
By Jared Book
Our sister site, Seedlings to Stars has started rolling out their top 115 prospects in baseball. Starting this morning, they have announced from 115 down to 91, and in that group of 25 there were three members of the Washington Nationals organization.
Jun 5, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets third baseman Matt Skole (16) runs past Mississippi State Bulldogs catcher Wes Thigpen (31) and the throw to score a run during the fifth inning in the Atlanta regional of the 2011 NCAA baseball tournament at Russ Chandler Stadium. Mississippi State defeated Georgia Tech 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Skole was the first prospect ranked at #108. In it, S2S says that he is still quite a bit away from earning a spot in the Major Leagues and predicts that his ability to avoid the strikeout (or lack there of) will remind people of Mark Reynolds.
Lucas Giolito was #98 and most of that is due to injury concerns and the fact he has yet to throw a professional pitch and likely won’t until 2014. The talent that he has shown in order to earn himself a first round selection is the same that allowed him to break in the top 100.
Newly-acquired A.J. Cole came in at #95. S2S notes what everybody will be thinking once the season gets underway – how much of Cole’s struggles last year was due to the tough California League and how much was it due to mechanics or something long term? In S2S’s crystal ball, they have Cole ending the season in AA.
Keep on checking out the prospect list as it comes out, and we will keep you updated as more Nationals are named. Presumably, two Nationals remain uncalled – Anthony Rendon and Brian Goodwin.