May 26, 2011; Durham, NC, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets infielder Matt Skole (16) watches his sacrifice fly for an RBI against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on the second day of the 2011 ACC baseball tournament at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

The Nationals drafted Skole out of Georgia Tech in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft. His ability as a hitter was not in doubt when he came out of college: in his second and final season at Georgia Tech, he hit .335/.437/.682 with 20 home runs in 62 games. However, before the draft, he was arrested for DUI, lowering his stock. Teams were also concerned about his ability to stick at third base, and that his bat might not be enough to play at first. These concerns combined to allow Skole to fall into the Nationals’ laps relatively late in the draft, and his immediate performance demonstrated some of what scouts saw in him. Although he was old for his level, 21 in short season A ball, his performance was still reasonably impressive: he hit .290 with an .820 OPS but only five home runs in 72 games. That offseason, Baseball America rated him as the Nats’ 21st best prospect, demonstrating little faith in him.

2012 would be Skole’s breakout year, and his performance put him on the radar of every scouting organization. In 101 games in A and 18 games in High A, Skole hit .291/.426/.559, dramatically increasing his slugging and on-base percentage over the previous season. He rediscovered his power stroke, hitting 27 home runs, and displayed great plate discipline, with an impressive 1.34 K/BB ratio. After the season, he went to play first base in the Arizona Fall League and continued to rake, hitting .305. Baseball America noted his improvement and amended their mistake from the previous season, rating him as the Nats’ #4 prospect before the team re-acquired A.J. Cole, in addition to designating him as having the system’s best power hitting ability and strike zone discipline. Plenty remain unconvinced of Skole’s ability, especially over his age, but a strong 23-year-old season in AA next year would go a long way towards dispelling those doubts.

Verdict:  At this point, it seems unlikely that Skole will stick at third, given his playing 1B in the Arizona Fall League, but if he does stay, his defense will be closer to Miguel Cabrera‘s than Ryan Zimmerman‘s. In any event, it appears that his bat will play at either position if he can keep up his power stroke in the upper minors. Complaints about his age are legitimate, but there has to be something there if he can hit 27 home runs, even against slightly younger competition. He’ll be in a bit more age-appropriate company in AA next year, and if he keeps slugging like he has, he’ll get even more attention than he did this past season. While the Nats may not have room for him in his scheduled arrival season of 2015 with Anthony Rendon on the rise, he definitely appears to have the ability to be a major-league average or better first baseman if he can maintain his performance.

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.

The Triple-A portion of BA’s All Stars is loaded with players from the Pacific Coast League (long known to be a more offensive league than the International League), but center fielder Corey Brown was able to crack the list and land one of the outfield spots (alongside Arizona’s Adam Eaton and Kansas City’s Wil Myers, BA’s Minor League Player of the Year).

(Image Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE)

Brown batted .285/.365/.523 with 25 HR and 71 RBI over 554 plate appearances with Syracuse. While he did strike out a great deal (139 times versus just 59 walks), Brown showed a lot of improvement during the 2012 season and may ultimately prove to be the best piece acquired from Oakland when the Nationals dealt Josh Willingham to the A’s in 2010 (the other piece acquired in the deal was, as Erickson called him, Henry “Where’s the Strike Zone?” Rodriguez). Brown also saw some time with Washington this season, including being among the team’s September callups. Through 21 plate appearances he’s hitting .200/.200/.400 with his first career hit coming in late July at Milwaukee, a solo home run off of Randy Wolf.

In the Class-A classification, Hagerstown third baseman and Washington’s Organizational Player of the Year Matt Skole was named, but at the team’s designated hitter. Skole mashed his way to a .286/.438/.574 line with 27 HR and 92 RBI over 448 plate appearances. He’d go on to be promoted to High-A Potomac, hitting .314/.355/.486 over another 76 plate appearances on the year.

He was beat out at third base by Minnesota’s Miguel Sano, a likely shoo-in to appear in the Top 10 of BA’s Top 100 Prospect rankings this winter. Sano hit .258/.373/.521 with 28 HR and 100 RBI on the year over 553 plate appearances.

Finally, from the Short Season NY/Penn League, Robert Benincasa was named as the team’s lone relief pitcher. The right-hander was drafted in the 7th Round of this past June’s Amateur Draft and quickly signed with the Nationals. He’d make 16 appearances for the Auburn Doubledays, pitching 23.1 innings with a 2-0 record, 3.09 ERA, and three saves. He struck out 32 and walked just 3 in that stretch.