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Washington Nationals Prospect Profile: Greg Ross

By Ricky Keeler |
Feb 24, 2015; Viera, FL, USA; A Washington Nationals baseball cap lies on the field during spring training workouts at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 24, 2015; Viera, FL, USA; A Washington Nationals baseball cap lies on the field during spring training workouts at Space Coast Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

One of the Washington Nationals pitching prospects that has gone under the radar this season is Greg Ross

Throughout this season, the Washington Nationals have seen Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Koda Glover make their big league debuts. However, there’s one pitching prospect that deserves way more attention for the great season he is having. That pitcher is right-hander Greg Ross, who is currently at double-A Harrisburg.

Ross was drafted in the 18th Round of the 2011 MLB Draft out of Frostburg State University (Maryland) by the Atlanta Braves. He was with the Braves for five seasons, where he got as far as double-A.

In 2014, Ross had a 2.08 ERA in 13 games during the second half at double-A Mississippi. Over the course of his final six starts, he held teams to six earned runs, had a 1.54 ERA, and struck out 21 batters in 35 innings.

Last year, he spent the full season in double-A and went 7-9 with a 3.99 ERA. But, keep in mind, he only had two wins in the first half of the year and he had another strong second half (5-3, 2.59 ERA in 12 starts).

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Back in January, the Orioles signed Ross to a minor league deal, but ended up releasing him two months later. Then, in April, the Washington Nationals signed him and started him in high-A Potomac where he went 2-2 with a 1.45 ERA in ten games, but only made four starts. In those starts, he had a 0.81 ERA.

That great start at Potomac led him to being promoted to double-A in June. In eight starts, he is 4-1 with a 0.87 ERA and he pitched into the sixth inning or better in seven of those outings. He doesn’t strike out many hitters (31 strikeouts), but he shows great command of his pitches (10 walks in 52 innings).

To get more information on Ross and why his last outing ended after only four innings on Sunday, I asked Mick Reinhard, who covers the Senators for PennLive.com to give us his scouting report on the 26-year-old:

“His FB sits around 91-92 so he’s not overpowering guys. He’s just a much better “pitcher” than what guys are used to at this level. He throws all of his pitches in any count and he’s not afraid to throw inside (which is unusual here). The thing that has impressed me the most is his command in the bottom half of the zone. Unfortunately, in his last start Ross stumbled over first base trying to beat out an infield GB and as a result was placed on the DL. No word yet on the extent of the injury.”

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If the injury to Ross isn’t serious, it will be interesting to see if he can continue his success at Harrisburg and maybe earn a promotion to triple-A Syracuse by the end of the year.

Giolito, Lopez, Glover, and even Erick Fedde may get all the attention and rightfully so as some of the top pitching prospects. However, Ross deserves to get the attention as being one of the big surprises in the Washington Nationals farm system in. 2016

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