Anthony Rendon Named FanSided’s #28 Prospect

We knew it was coming, and today it was revealed that the Washington Nationals top prospect Anthony Rendon came in at #28 in Seedling To Stars’s Top Prospects list.

March 07, 2012; Melbourne, FL, USA; Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) at bat during the spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Rendon has had to deal with coming back from injury in addition to adjusting to professional baseball, but has the tools necessary to become a Major League regular, even though, as S2S points out, we don’t know where he will fit in the lineup. He was drafted as a third baseman but has seen time as a second baseman in the minor leagues.

S2S predicts that Rendon will be in the Major Leagues by the All-Star break but will only be a regular in 2013. That would leave 2012 with Rendon in a role that Texas used Mike Olt and Jurickson Profar in last year. However, with the news that Danny Espinosa is attempting to play through a torn rotator cuff to start the season, Rendon may end up seeing regular playing time sooner than that if he proves to be a better replacement option that Steve Lombardozzi should Espinosa continue his September struggles since the apparent injury. (Note: The list was finalized before news of Espinosa’s injury)

I have talked at length about the potential lack of depth that the Nationals had in the pitching staff. They have alleviated some or most of those concerns, although adding Javier Vazquez would be the perfect final step. In the field, they don’t have too many concerns. Corey Brown, Tyler Moore, Steve Lombardozzi and Rendon are players that most teams would love to have and at least two of them probably won’t make the Opening Day roster. That’s a good place to be in, and that’s why Espinosa playing through an injury is less of a concern than it otherwise would be. The Nationals have people in-house to replace him at a high level and if worse comes to worse, they have shown they aren’t scared to look for upgrades from outside the organization.