Nationals Prospects on Move after Scherzer Signing?

Now that the Nationals have made the second biggest splash of the offseason with their pilfering of Max Scherzer, trade talks have been renewed for the likes of several of his new teammates. The Scherzer signing means the Nationals have strengthened their already stout pitching staff, which led all of baseball in team ERA (3.03) and strikeout-to-walk-ratio (3.66) and was second in WHIP (1.16).

Starting pitchers Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Tanner Roark and shortstop Ian Desmond are the most common names on the trading block. The Nationals need bullpen help, and they certainly have the pieces to trade for whatever they need.

If the Nationals do trade one of their big names, the beneficiary of the Nationals’ excessive pitching wealth may want some prospects in return. With that in mind, here are some players who will draw inquiries from other teams:

Harvard Westlake pitcher Lucas Giolito (Photo Credit: Eric Dearborn Photography)

Pitcher Lucas Giolito is the Nats’ most highly regarded prospect and for good reason. He has the upper-90s fastball and plus curveball and changeup to go with it. Giolito dominated in his first full professional season, going 10-2 with a 2.20 ERA and 1.00 WHIP at Single-A. Opponents his a paltry .197 against him, and when opponents did manage to put the ball in play—he had 110 Ks in 98 innings—their batting average on balls in play was .263. Giolito will be tough to part with, considering Zimmermann and Fister will both be free agents after this season, and if Giolito’s skills put him on the fast-track through the minors, he could be an in-house option to fill their shoes.

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A.J. Cole has all the same positive attributes as Giolito. In 2013, Cole was 10-5 with a 3.60 ERA between High-A and Double-A. He promptly followed that up with a 13-3, 3.16 ERA campaign at Double-A and Triple-A in 2014. Minor causes for concern were his WHIP (1.12 in 2013 to 1.34 in 2014), opponent’s average (.236 to .278) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.58 to 3.47), which all went in the wrong direction. These are minor concerns because as he jumped levels of the minors, it put him in competition with more advanced hitters. He has drawn comparisons to Justin Verlander due to their similarities in arsenal and physical skills.

Outfielder Michael Taylor, who had a brief stint in the majors as a September call up, has incredible power potential. The Nationals have a future Justin Upton-type player in Taylor, and the similarities between the two in the minors is striking (note the almost identical jumps in AVG, On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage):

Taylor: 2013 High-A– .263 AVG/.340 OBP/.426 SLG/.331 BABIP/50.9 At bats per home run
Upton: 2006 Single-A–.263 AVG/.343 OBP/.413 SLG/.307 BABIP/36.5 At bats per home run

Taylor: 2014 Double-A–.313 AVG/.396 OBP/.539 SLG/.421 BABIP/17.45 AB/HR
Upton: 2007 High-A Double-A–.319 AVG/.410 OBP/.551 SLG/.356 BABIP/ 21.4 AB/HR

The Nationals, and other teams, would love to have Taylor play center field for them, as his speed allows him to play stellar defense. Taylor must cut down on the strikeouts—he struck out on 29.5 percent of plate appearances in 2014, way more than even Upton—but his boundless raw power and defensive potential scream impact major leaguer.

Farther down the line, the Nats have pitcher Austin Voth and Catcher Jakson Reetz. Voth was great for most of the year before a tough five-game stint at Double-A. Overall, it was still a quality season as he went 7-7 with a 2.77 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. Plus, he pounds the strike zone, and his K/BB ratio of 3.54 is major league worthy (Roark’s was 3.54). Reetz, drafted in the third round in 2014, had a strong professional debut, hitting .274 with a .429 OBP. Scouts almost unanimously believe he has the defensive tools to be a big-league backstop, and if he continues to develop, he will be highly coveted.

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