Now that the minor league season is in full swing, I wanted to do an update on how players are doing at each level. The Nats system is deeper than it has been in a long time, so there is quite a bit to get to. So far, the Nats affiliates have been doing a lot of winning, with every team above .500. With that being said, let’s dive into some performances.
Low-A Standouts:
I am going to start at the lower levels and work my way up, so the Fredericksburg Nationals are the first team I will talk about.
The Fred Nats are absolutely loaded with talent. Baseball America listed them as the 7th most talented team in the entire minor leagues. That means there are a lot of notable names to cover.
On a team with players such as first overall pick Eli Willits, MacKenzie Gore trade headliner Gavin Fien and others, Ronny Cruz has been the best hitter so far. Cruz came to the Nats in the Michael Soroka trade, and has been generating buzz all spring. He showed big time flashes on the back fields, and even hit a home run in big league Spring Training.
It looks like his impressive spring is translating to real games. Cruz has a 1.098 OPS so far, and all five of his hits have gone for extra bases. Two of those have been home runs. There was one game where the youngster was a single shy of the cycle.
Cruz was seen as a raw prospect, but it looks like he has taken a major step in his development. Last season, he was decent in rookie ball, but now he is excelling in Low-A. Cruz had a winding journey that saw him go from the Dominican Republic to the US after an IFA deal fell through. Then, in his senior year of high school, he dealt with a knee injury. He was behind the 8 ball in terms of development, but now he has caught up.
The tools have never been in doubt with Cruz, but now he looks more polished. Despite a skinny frame, he has impressive power due to his raw bat speed. He is also a quality defender in the infield. Naturally, he is a shortstop, but has played second and third base with Eli Willits manning shortstop.
Speaking of Willits, he has not had the loudest start, only hitting .200 with a .604 OPS. However, I am confident the hits will fall. He only has four strikeouts and almost has as many walks, with three. It is only a matter of time before he heats up.
A couple other notable performers are pitchers Miguel Sime Jr. and Landon Harmon. Both made their pro debuts recently. Neither went very deep in the game, but both showed their excellent stuff. Sime was particularly impressive with 6 strikeouts in 2.1 innings to just one walk.
High-A Standouts:
The next level we will visit is High-A. Right now, the Wilmington Blue Rocks are 3-1 and have looked good so far. They are not as stacked as the Fred Nats, but they have plenty of intriguing names we will discuss.
The first guy I want to talk about is Angel Feliz. Sending Feliz to High-A was an aggressive assignment that was likely caused by how many young infield prospects the Nats have. Feliz only played 31 games in Low-A, where he did not light it up. However, the Nats were bullish on his glove and wanted him to play shortstop at High-A.
So far, he has been surprisingly solid with the bat, despite being one of the youngest players in High-A. He has done a really good job controlling the zone, with 7 walks and just 2 strikeouts so far. Feliz is batting just .250, but his ability to get on base is why he has an .859 OPS. He also has a triple, which is his only extra base hit so far this season.
Taking your walks seems to be a theme in Wilmington so far. The two other top prospects at the level, Ethan Petry and Devin Fitz-Gerald are also walking a lot, with five each. Learning to take those walks will be helpful in these guys’ development. Eventually, they will get pitches to hit and we know these players have hitting chops.
Wilmington’s top pitching prospect is Yoel Tejada, who had an up and down first start. He struck out 7 in 4.1 innings, but he did allow three runs. Tejada is a massive 6’8 pitcher who has interesting upside. However, he is still quite raw.
Double-A Standouts:
From a record standpoint, the Harrisburg Senators are absolutely killing it. They are 5-0, and winning the game they are playing while I am writing this. Their offense has been explosive, and they have also had some fun pitching performances.
Right now, Sam Petersen is carrying the Senators offense. When Petersen is healthy, he absolutely rakes. It has been no different this season. Right now, he is hitting .364 with an OPS over 1.000. He may have been picked in the 8th round, but Petersen is the real deal.
MLB Pipeline has him as the 22nd ranked prospect in the system, which just feels too low. Petersen has a .937 OPS in his minor league career. Those numbers are just undeniable. The Nats have a lot of outfield prospects in the upper levels, but Petersen is the next man up and could force his way to the big leagues before too long.
However, Petersen is not the only hitter performing down there. After a rough start to his pro career, Seaver King has been heading in the right direction since the Arizona Fall League. His approach is much improved, and he is showing why the Nats took him in the top 10.
Right now, King has a .908 OPS on the season. He already has 8 walks, which is a great sign for a player who has faced concerns about chasing too much. We know King has the raw athleticism, he just needed to perform. With his athleticism and versatility, he could be in the big leagues by the end of the season.
On the mound, the Senators have a couple intriguing prospects worth following. While he is not in the Nats top 30 for MLB Pipeline, Davian Garcia is a name with a lot of helium. Baseball America listed him as a guy with breakout potential due to his uptick in velocity and improving command. In his first start, Garcia threw 4.2 innings of one run ball with five strikeouts and two walks.
Another high octane arm in AA is Eriq Swan. The Nats got him as part of the Alex Call return. Swan has control issues, but he has elite arm talent. He can touch triple digits and has a wipeout slider to go with it. In his first start of the season, he threw 4 no hit innings with two walks. This is likely a reliever profile, but if he looks how he did last night, he could be fast tracked.
Triple-A Standouts:
The Rochester Red Wings are such a fascinating team. They have prospects like Harry Ford, Abimelec Ortiz and others, but some of the most interesting guys are players with big league experience. The biggest name in that group is Dylan Crews.
The former second overall pick was sent down after a brutal spring. The idea was to have Crews rebuild his swing and confidence at a lower level. So far, the results have been solid, if not mind blowing. Crews is hitting .278 with an .830 OPS. One thing I do like is that he is walking at a 17% clip. The whiffs have been high, but after his spring, that is not a giant surprise.
Crews hit a mammoth pull side homer the other day, which has gotten him going. In the last week or so, Crews has really heated up. If he can push that OPS close to .900, I think he will force Paul Toboni’s hand and get a call up before too long.
However, Crews is far from the only intriguing bat in Rochester. One player who has not done as well is Harry Ford, who the Nats acquired in an offseason trade. As usual, Ford is taking his walks, but the quality of contact has not been great so far. However, he had a slower April last year before hitting over .400 in May, so it is not time to panic at all.
One player I want to see in the big leagues soon is Abimelec Ortiz. He had a chance to win a job out of camp, but struggled this spring. However, he has had a great start in AAA. He has an .849 OPS and has more walks than strikeouts. I think he would plug in nicely to that DH spot against righties, a role currently held by Jose Tena.
On the pitching side of things, Andrew Alvarez and Riley Cornelio have been the standouts. Cornelio is the one who really catches my eye though. His stuff has been ticking up, and he is getting more whiffs than ever. The fastball has been particularly sharp so far, comfortably sitting in the mid-90’s.
Cornelio is 25 and on the 40 man roster, so I would not be opposed to giving him a shot in the rotation or the bullpen. The bullpen desperately needs help and I think Cornelio could be nasty in short bursts sitting 96-97 MPH. He will certainly get a big league look at some point, but it should happen sooner rather than later.
While there has not been much winning at the big league level, it is a different story in the minors. All of the teams are above .500, and I actually think that is a good sign for the overall health of the organization. Last year, the Nats minor league teams were not very good across the board. This year, that looks to be changing. Paul Toboni is taking a ground up approach to his project. Eventually, he hopes that minor league success will make its way to the big leagues.
