Midway through the 2020 season we have an updated look at where the Washington Nationals farm system ranks in conjunction to others.
If you were wondering what the Washington Nationals had in the minor league system as far as prospects, wonder no more. MLB Pipeline released their rankings for every club’s farm system, and guess where the Nats check in.
Last.
Here's our midseason ranking of all 30 farm systems: https://t.co/HBIYpfPeOF pic.twitter.com/9yq7w5FaR7
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 2, 2020
Well, this is one publications opinion right. And who knows if they are a reputable source. Most likely they are. Most likely any luke warm Nationals fan could have told you the cupboards were bare.
The rationale for coming in at the bottom of the heap is the Nationals have “tapped into their farm system more than ever this year.” From Luis Garcia to Wil Crowe and Seth Romero all making major league debuts, the title of prospect falls off.
Carter Kieboom is the only “prospect” to appear on the Top 100 list, and he was jettisoned to the alternate training site a week ago.
The news, albeit not shocking, is compounded by the fact the Nationals didn’t acquire anyone at the trade deadline, either to help the team win, or to stock the system. The pieces the Nats would have been moving may not have brought back top of the line returns, though they may have.
The market was rumored to be seller friendly and the Nationals could have benefited from getting a couple names to throw in the system, even if they weren’t Top 100. At 12-19 and 2.5 games out of the wild card spot when the trading deadline passed, one could make the argument to hang onto the team and fight for a playoff spot.
Some can make this argument if the Nationals were trending in the right direction. They are not.
General manager Mike Rizzo was taking calls and the possibility is, maybe he wasn’t blown away by any deals. There was no need to give away players, even to save a few dollars on the payroll. I find it hard to believe nothing of value was offered back.
Moot point at this juncture in the game.
Truth be told, the Washington Nationals are an aging team at the major league level, and have no reinforcements in the minor league system. This means the only way for the team to get better, is through trades and free agency. There is some good money coming off the books this winter, allowing the Nationals the opportunity to make moves then.
If the Nationals continue the course they are on, they will be looking at a top 5 pick in the draft next year. This may be more valuable in the long run than had the Nationals acquired some lower level talent just for a salary dump, at the deadline.
The good news is, no where to go but up.