Washington Nationals Winter League Update: Brian Goodwin

Down in Venezuela, a Nationals’ outfield prospect is on a tear at the plate as he tries to get momentum going into next year.

With winter league baseball still going on around the world, one of the Washington Nationals young outfield prospects is off to a strong start. Down in Venezuela, center fielder Brian Goodwin has been piling up the hits as of late. Over his last nine games, the 25-year-old outfielder has 19 hits in 34 at-bats, including four three-hit games.

Goodwin played the 2015 season with the Nats’ double-A affiliate in Harrisburg. Over the course of 114 games, he had a slash line of .290/.340/.631 with eight home runs, 46 RBI’s, and 15 stolen bases (22 attempts). He was tied with Chris Bostick for second on the team in home runs and ended up being fifth in stolen bases.

More from District on Deck

For his team in Venezuela, Bravos de Margarita, the left-hander has a slash line of .356/.444/.535 with three home runs, 16 RBI’s, 20 runs scored, and four stolen bases in six attempts. As far as team stats go, he is second on the team in batting average, tied for third in home runs, second in stolen bases, and fourth in RBI’s.

Last Wednesday, it was Goodwin who provided the heroics for the Margarita squad when he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12^th inning. During that game, he went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to go with the home run. He has two home runs, seven RBI’s, and 11 runs scored over his last nine games.

More from Nationals Prospects

Goodwin has been with the Nats since he was chosen with the 34^th pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. However, over the last two seasons at double or triple-A, he has failed to hit higher than .252 in a given season. As Mick Reinhard, the beat writer for Harrisburg from the Penn Live/Patriot News told us in August, Goodwin “has all the tools and it’s frustrating to watch him not put it together season after season.”

Next: District Daily: Jordan Zimmermann Signs With Detroit

Once regarded as a top prospect in the organization, Goodwin’s ranking in the system has slipped the last couple of years. According to MLB Pipeline, Goodwin is the 24^th ranked player in the farm system, but he is the seventh outfielder behind players such as Andrew Stevenson, Rhett Wiseman, and Rafael Bautista. If anything, Goodwin could be used as a trade chip to help the Nationals, but he needs to take the success he is having this winter and carry it into a successful 2016 campaign.

Home/Nationals Prospects