District On Deck
FanSided

Washington Nationals: Top 40 Prospects

By Frank Ellis

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 13: Josiah Gray #40 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on August 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 13: Josiah Gray #40 of the Washington Nationals pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Nationals Park on August 13, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 8
Next
Nationals
BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 24: Tres Barrera #38 of the Washington Nationals prepares for a pitch during a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 24, 2021 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

16.Aldo Ramirez

Aldo Ramirez is another player acquired at the deadline. The Nationals traded Kyle Schwarber for Ramirez and he could be the steal of this trade deadline. He is very advanced for his age and that likely comes from pitching in the Mexican Professional League at 16. He is now 20 years old and has solid command over his four pitches. MLB Pipeline stated,

"“​​The most advanced young pitcher in the Boston system at the time of the trade, Ramirez repeats his clean delivery easily and pounds the strike zone. He has the confidence to throw any pitch in any count, and it’s growing as his stuff continues to improve. “"

17. Jeremy De La Rosa

JDLR’s stock has fallen in 2021, after being one of the most promising young bats in the Nationals system. He spent the offseason working out with Juan Soto and at only 19 years old this certainly is not the end of his story. If he wants to get back on track he has to cut down on the strikeouts. He seems to be all-in on every pitch wanting to destroy the ball. Instead, he needs to focus on making more contact, after that the power will come. He is still a very promising prospect, but he has some work to do to get back into the top 10.

18. Riley Adams

Adams is another name that is ranked higher on other lists, but as with most of these selections I have focused on upside. The upside for Adams is as a backup catcher. A pretty good backup catcher though. He provides a large target for pitchers and all reports say he calls a great game and is good defensively. Offensively he has power as we have already seen with the Nats. Things could change but at 25 I expect him to be a backup for the Nats that will provide some solid pop off the bench.

19. Mason Thompson

We have reached the final potential closer of the future on this list. Mason Thompson was acquired from the Padres in return for Daniel Hudson. Thompson was a third round pick by the Padres in 2016 and due to health concerns he was moved to the bullpen. He has some of the most devastating movement on his fastball and his slider moves from one side of the plate to the other as well. He is another big pitcher who has found his way into the big league bullpen this year and again he’s not going anywhere any time soon.

20. Tres Barrera

Tres will probably be the first one off of this list to graduate. He was always known as a solid defensive catcher with an above-average arm, but he has shown at times that he can be an offensive contributor as well. He just looks like a leader on the field and he is the odds on favorite to be the backup behind Ruiz in 2022.

Home/Nationals News