Washington Nationals: 5 prospects that could be dealt at trade deadline

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With the trade deadline less than three weeks away, here are five prospects the Washington Nationals could deal that can help them add to this year’s team

Now that the All-Star Game is officially in the books, the trade deadline is the next significant event for the Washington Nationals. They have less than three weeks to decide how they want to upgrade this team in order to make that championship run.

In order to make that significant upgrade, the Nats will have to trade key pieces of their farm system. While the farm system isn’t what it once was in terms of how it stacks up with the rest of baseball, they still have good depth at key positions across the diamond.

As far as the strength of that system goes, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote on Sunday night about how it might be tough for the Nats to make a trade for a premiere player considering the system isn’t that strong right now:

“The systems of the Cubs, Nationals and Red Sox have been used so much to become contenders that they are down a few grades from recent years.

Before I give my five prospects to watch, I want to throw out that top prospect Victor Robles will not be one of them. With Bryce Harper’s future in a curly W uniform uncertain past 2018 and Adam Eaton coming off of an ACL injury next year, it makes it tough to see Robles gets dealt when he could be one of the key pieces in the outfield going forward.

While Robles is a top ten talent in most prospect circles that teams will want, there are other prospects to watch in the Nats farm system. Let’s start by talking about one player that got off to a cold start at Syracuse, but ended the first half on a good note:

(Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Andrew Stevenson

Stevenson’s name came onto the scene when he was one of the best players in the Arizona Fall League and was eventually invited to major league spring training as a non-roster invitee. After a good start to the season at Double-A Harrisburg, he was eventually promoted to Triple-A Syracuse.

In his first 25 games at the next level, the 23-year-old center fielder hit a mere .178 with five RBI’s. Then, once June 1 came around, Stevenson’s numbers started to get much better.

Over the final 39 games leading up to the All-Star break, Stevenson hit .317 with four doubles, four triples, 15 RBI’s, and eight stolen bases in nine chances. He’s not going to hit many home runs, but he has the ability to make consistent contact and that is of high value.

The big question that the Washington Nationals will have to ask themselves going forward is whether or not his trade value is going to get higher. According to MLB Pipeline, he is the number five prospect in the Nats organization. Plus, if the team keeps Victor Robles and re-signs Bryce Harper in two years, there isn’t really a place for him.

With that being said, the current state of the major league outfield is something to consider. Jayson Werth and Michael Taylor are both on the disabled list and they are probably one outfield injury away from promoting Stevenson (unless they want to use Wilmer Difo in center field).

Outfield is a position of depth in the Washington Nationals organization, so let’s talk about one of last year’s draft picks that is having a great year in Hagerstown.

Daniel Johnson

After hitting just one home run at Short-Season Auburn last season, Johnson’s power has emerged with the Suns in 2017. His 16 home runs are the most of any player in the South Atlantic League and he is another player on a hot streak since June 1.

Johnson, who was drafted in the fifth round out of New Mexico State in 2016, is hitting .333 with five doubles, three triples, six home runs, and 23 RBI’s over his last 34 games. He recently had a 13-game hit streak snapped on Sunday.

While at Hagerstown this season, Johnson has hit in a variety of different spots in the batting order. At the beginning of the season, he was hitting home runs out of the number nine spot. Now, due to injuries to Carter Kieboom and Juan Soto, he is hitting either second or third.

In the field, Johnson can either play right field or left field for another club. We all know the Washington Nationals aren’t afraid to trade players from the previous draft like they did with Dane Dunning this winter in the Adam Eaton deal.

Right now, Johnson is one of the surprise players in the Nats organization this year. With the way he’s hit the ball for the Suns, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he’s part of a trade this month. If that ends up being the case, he would be the second Suns player to be dealt this year (Mick Van Vossen dealt in the Ryan Raburn trade).

Now, let’s shift over to the mound to one of the Nats pitchers that is coming off of Tommy John surgery.

Jesus Luzardo

Luzardo was selected by the Washington Nationals in the third round of the 2016 MLB Draft, but most considered him a first rounder if he didn’t need Tommy John surgery at the time.

It’s only three starts, but the 19-year-old left-hander is off to a strong start in his first professional season. Luzardo has given up two runs in 13.2 innings, has struck out 15 batters, and has yet to walk anyone. He hasn’t thrown more than five innings in a game yet, but those are still good numbers.

Here is what Brian Sankowski of Perfect Game USA tweeted about how Luzardo has looked in the GCL:

Told that #Nationals LHP Jesus Luzardo has been in mid-90's, touching 98 mph in GCL thus far. Had TJ before draft in '16. Big time prospect
— Brian Sakowski (@B_Sakowski_PG) July 12, 2017

Back in May, Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to report that there was a trade offer with the Chicago White Sox this winter that involved Luzardo and Drew Ward going to Chicago for closer David Robertson, but that deal didn’t happen. If the Nats want to try to get Robertson again, Luzardo’s name will probably pop up.

With only three starts, Luzardo is listed as the tenth best prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline. Here is what they had to say about what his potential is going forward:

“He’ll be brought along slowly in the wake of his surgery, but the all-around package gives Luzardo the potential to move quickly once fully healthy, with his ceiling being that of a No. 3 or 4 starter.”

The Nats don’t have many top pitching prospects in their organization, so Luzardo might be a tough name to give up. However, remember that the team did draft nine pitchers in the first ten rounds last month and Luzardo’s MLB debut isn’t likely to come for quite some time. For a team focusing on the short-term, this might be a move they could make.

We go from Rookie ball back to Low-A ball, where one Suns pitcher is on a hot streak when it comes to winning games

McKenzie Mills

Mills has been in the Washington Nationals organization since 2014, but this year is his first year playing in a full-season league. With the Suns, he has been one of the best pitchers in the South Atlantic League. He is 11-2 with a 2.70 ERA and opponents are hitting .198 against him in 16 starts.

You have to go back to May 8 to find the last time that Mills lost a start. While wins and losses are not the only stat that defines a pitcher, Mills has been the definition of consistent. The 21-year-old left-hander has gone five innings in every start and has struck out eight batters or more in four of his last five starts.

Mills made the South Atlantic League All-Star team this season, but did not pitch in the game. Back in May, Ryan Sullivan of Nats GM did his scouting report on Mills and talked about how he has to improve his offspeed pitches:

“Overslot 18th round pick in 2015 ($150,000), this 21.5 y/o has a tremendous physique and a left-handed arm that can reach the mid-90s. However, his inability to repeat his mechanics and struggles to spin a breaking ball limits his profile and eventual ceiling.”

It’s not unprecedented for the Nats to trade someone from Hagerstown at the deadline. Last season, when they acquired Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Nats dealt away Taylor Hearn, who appeared in games for the Suns, along with Felipe Rivero.

Mills and Tyler Watson have been at the head of the Suns rotation during the season. Even if it’s Mills gets promoted soon, he will be one of the young pitching prospects other teams take a look at.

Finally, let’s look at one of the possible untouchables that have been battling injury all season.

Juan Soto

Soto was the Gulf Coast League MVP last year and was having an excellent start in Hagerstown this season. In the first 23 games of the season, the 18-year-old had a slash line of .360/.477/.523 with three home runs and 14 RBI’s. Then, the injury happened.

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On May 2 against the Rome Braves, Soto slid into home plate and had to leave that game with an ankle injury. Three days later, he ended up going on the disabled list. Last week, he was rehabbing with the GCL Nats (1-for-13 in five games) and left the game on July 8 after one at-bat.

It is unknown whether or not he left that game to an injury, but it is still a concern because when he was healthy, Soto was one of the best players in the SAL and the numbers were impressive considering he’s just 18 in full-season ball.

While some think Soto could end up being better than Robles in the long-term, the major question is going to be how much do the Nats sacrifice long-term to improve in the short-term? With the bullpen struggling day-by-day, the price is going to get higher and higher.

As I talked about earlier, Robles would be the one player to keep for me because he can help the Nats within the next couple of years as he nears the advanced levels. It would be a big loss long-term for the Nats to lose Soto, but the high price could end up leading to that.

Next: Power ranking closer trade targets

All in all, the Washington Nationals farm system isn’t as strong as it once was, but it has some talented prospects that teams are going to want between today and July 31.

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