Nationals Linked to Top International Prospect: Cristian Vaquero

If things go as planned it looks like the Nationals will once again be signing a top 5 international prospect in 2022.

Earlier this year they locked up the number four international prospect Armando Cruz. Crus looks like he is going to be a top-level Nationals prospect soon and now it looks like the Nationals are in line to sign the number one international prospect Cristian Vaquero according to Baseball America.

Vaquero is a 16-year-old center fielder from Cuba and Baseball America says that he has plus speed, a strong arm, and good defensive instincts. On the offensive side, he has a solid left-handed bat, and similar to Cruz, he projects to grow into some more power.

This is obviously very early in the international prospect cycle, but the Nationals had Armando Cruz locked up almost a year before the official announcement.

In years past the Nationals' big international signings have come from the Dominican Republic, but now they look to add a star from Cuba. The biggest thing that can get in the way now is potential international rule changes coming via the new collective bargaining agreement, but if all goes well we will be adding another top young international prospect to our farm. This is very exciting news and we will have continued coverage of this here at The Nationals Report as time goes on.

Until then enjoy this video below of some recent Vaquero highlights.