A New Era to See Through:

The Next wave for the Washington Nationals.

Outfielders

By: Michael A. Chase Jr.

8/9/2021

       The 4th and final article of the 4-set collection discussing the Washington Nationals coming rebuild will cover the young outfielders that will be crucial to the success of this rebuild. Specifically analyzing a few of the current prospects that have a strong shot becoming impact big leaguers soon. While also discussing some of the current options at the MLB level that will factor into evaluation process. All these outfield prospects will get a legit opportunity to try to join Nats Superstar Juan Soto to form an elite outfield for the Nationals going forward. The players that will be discussed in this article include current Nats center fielder Victor Robles. Newly acquired prospect Donovan Casey, and prospect Jeremy De La Rosa. As the three are at varying levels of their development with different parts of their game that need cultivating.

Outfielders:

-        The Nats have had stars and solid veterans alike patrol their outfield over the last decade. From stars like Bryce Harper to vets like Jayson Werth, Adam Eaton, Denard Span, among others. The Nats have always been able to field a solid outfield trio that produce offensively and are solid defensively. Now the Nats are trying to find the next wave of outfield talent that will alongside Juan Soto form the next Nats outfield group for the next 5 to 7 years. While they may not have an abundance of high-end outfield prospects, they have young players either learning currently in the MLB. Or players coming up through the system that will get a chance down the road to show they can be everyday big leaguers.

Victor Robles:

-        For former top prospect Victor Robles, the last two seasons have been a regression from his highly promising 2019 campaign. Robles still has all the tools to be a borderline star in centerfield for the Nats for the foreseeable future. The 24-year-old outfielder is continuing to learn at the big-league level, with now a few more downs than ups in terms of performance. But because of his ever-present tools sticking with him a little longer may be a long-term payoff for the Nats. As far as his numbers this season Robles is hitting .199 with a .610 OPS, both of which are below league average. Some of these struggles could be in congruence with him trying to learn better plate discipline. Which has led at times to a lack of aggression and indecisiveness at the plate. He just needs to find a happy medium between swinging aggressively and working counts to better his count leverage. Robles also has had several baserunning errors once again. Making mistakes he needs to get out of his game and become more of a weapon on the basepaths that his speed can make him. He has still shown to be an elite defender, which is a plus. But he must iron out the kinks in his game offensively to become the five-tool player he has the talent to be. It is not time to give up on Robles yet, but the final two months of this season and next year are key for him to prove he in a long-term piece for the Nats.

Donovan Casey:

-        Currently the Nationals 27th ranked prospect Casey was the final piece acquired in the blockbuster deadline deal between the Nats and Dodgers. At 25-years-old Casey is one of the older prospects looking to become an impact player for the Nats. While scouts do not see him as more than a future fourth outfielder type. If he makes some subtle improvements to his game, he can become a surprising piece to the Nats rebuild. In terms of improvements most of them come with him as a hitter. As Casey does need to lower his strikeout rate and hit fewer balls on the ground to make his raw power more useful. He does possess great speed and a strong throwing arm, giving him the tools to be a plus defender at the MLB level. Right field may be his future position, but he does have the athleticism to play center. Casey will need to continue to show growth as a hitter to become a viable option as an everyday player for the Nats in the future. Plus, the fact he is a year older than the average Double-A prospect means he could be more of a late bloomer.  

Jeremy De La Rosa:

-        The 19-year-old Outfielder presents a variety of very solid skills that project him to have major upside as a big-league outfielder. As being the Nats currently 8th ranked prospect De La Rosa has the natural ability along with sharp work ethic to become a particularly good player for the Nats in the future. His strengths as a player include having good bat speed that helps showcase his raw power. Scouts see him needing to improve the position of his hands when setting up to hit. Though he does show the ability despite this to hit to all fields with still more improvement to come. He possesses speed as one of his biggest assets, making him able to cover much ground in center field primarily. The Nats have actively challenged him when it comes to his development. Moving him around to face tougher challenges which will benefit him in the long run. De La Rosa may likely not reach the majors until possibly 2023 at the earliest. The promise is their leaving many excited about his eventual arrival.

Overall, the Nationals while they may not have a plentiful crop of outfield prospects, have some intriguing pieces to evaluate. From the electric, yet at times erratic Robles, young and talented De La Rosa, and late bloomer Donovan Casey the Nats have these three to work with in terms of evaluating their outfield options. While the next couple seasons may see the Nats dip more into free agency to cover up holes in their outfield currently. They will do their due diligence to see if any of these threes players or others further down in their system can become big league mainstays soon.