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MLB Pipeline Nats top 30 for 2024 review

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Wood's blast was the highlight of the night for Harrisburg. Photo via milb
Wood has been tearing up spring training; could he actually make the team? Photo via milb.com

The last of the major pundits (that i’m waiting for, ahem Fangraphs) has dropped their Nats prospect rankings for the new season. Here’s a review of the MLBPipeline Nats top 30, done by MLB’s scouting pundits Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and Sam Dykstra.

Here’s a list of all the ranking lists i’m aware of and/or have reviewed this spring so far, in order of their release (and if I reviewed them, a link to that recap):

Lastly, here’s a link to my Nationals Prospect Tracking XLS, which has all the above ranks, along with more than 230 historical rankings dating back to the very first Baseball America ranking in January of 2005 for the franchise just after moving here.

On with the review of MLB Pipeline. Here’s their top 30 in tabular format:

MLB rank Last Name First Name Position
1 Crews Dylan OF (CF)
2 Wood James OF (Corner)
3 House Brady SS/3B
4 Cavalli Cade RHP (Starter)
5 Morales Yohandy 3B
6 Green Elijah OF (CF)
7 Lile Daylen OF (CF)
8 Hassell III Robert OF (CF)
9 Vaquero Cristian OF (CF)
10 Susana Jarlin RHP (Starter)
11 Sykora Travis RHP (Starter)
12 Herz DJ LHP (Starter)
13 Hurtado Victor OF
14 Bennett Jake LHP (Starter)
15 Rutledge Jackson RHP (Starter)
16 Lipscomb Trey 3B
17 Pinckney Andrew OF (Corner)
18 Young Jacob OF (CF)
19 Nunez Nasim SS
20 Millas Drew C
21 Brzykcy Zach RHP (Reliever)
22 Parker Mitchell LHP (Starter)
23 Made Kevin SS
24 Feliz Angel 3B/SS
25 Henry Cole RHP (Starter)
26 Pineda Israel C
27 Baker Darren 2B
28 De La Rosa Jeremy OF (Corner)
29 Saenz Dustin LHP (Starter)
30 White T.J. OF (Corner)

And here’s some thoughts.

  • This is probably the list that I most agree with so far. When I put this top 30 end to end against my list (which will be forthcoming soon) it’s pretty amazing how well it lines up.
  • Same Top 4 as nearly everyone else.
  • Morales seems to be settling in as the near consensus #5 prospect in the system.
  • I can’t argue with the set of players ranked 6th to 9th, all of whom are Center fielders. Green above Lile and Hassell kind of ignores his 2023 struggles a bit; I have him below Lile/Hassell. Vaquero at #9 seems pretty consistent; nearly every other pundit has him in the 7-9 range.
  • Comment on Lile: man I hope he’s ok and doesn’t have any long term damage.
  • Susana and Sykora 10-11: so now we’re starting to see a bit of the methodology that MLBPipeline adheres to; they’re a little heavy on ceiling and potential. This is probably why Green is higher than his actual on-field performance earns him right now. I like Susana and Sykora, but they’re both 19yrs old with mostly big fastballs and shiny scores on a scouting report.
  • The two 2024 IFAs come in: Hurtado at #13 and Feliz at #24. I think Hurtado is a bit high at 13, but a couple others had him in that range, so it isn’t egregious.
  • I’m a little higher on Young and Nunez than they are, but again its within the mid-teen range and splitting hairs to criticize that they’re ranked 18 and 19 instead of 13 and 14.
  • Brzycky at #21? Don’t get that one. An injured reliever ahead of a 40-man starter in Parker?
  • Kevin Made at #23 shows the drastic variations of opinion: they’re right in line with what BA said, but echelons below what guys like Law and McDaniel said.
  • Henry at #25 is pretty much low man amongst the professional pundits. Ghost had him at #30 for reasons he explained post review. They are not bullish on his return from TOS.
  • Can’t really complain about anyone in the 25-30 range.
  • TJ White is their biggest faller from last year, as noted in the writeup.

biggest misses?

  • Andry Lara; outside top 30. I’m not sure i agree with that, even with as much as I’ve criticized his placement.
  • Quintana out of top 30; not egregious, just noting that most shops have him in the 19-20 range.