Baseball America took a look at what they think are the Nationals top ten prospects and at the head of the class was 2006 first round draft pick Chris Marrero. The outfielder/first baseman got off to a nice start at Hagerstown but lost some of his power when he made the jump to Potomac. Still, the kid has some definite upside and he won’t turn 20 until July 2 of next year.
Number two and three are both pitchers. Ross Detwiller came in at number two and he was the Nationals first round draft pick this year. The sixth overall pick was dominating in the Gulf Coast League but then he struggled a bit when he was bumped up to Potomac. He even threw a scoreless inning for the Nationals. Number three is right hander Collin Baester, who was the Nationals top prospect last year (at least according to BA). Baester had a decent but not great season splitting time between Double A and Triple A. Still, despite his season last year, Baester projects to make the rotation next year.
Rounding out the top five are outfielders Michael Burgess and lefthanded pitcher Jack McGreary. Both were chosen in the 2007 draft.