First, let’s be perfectly honest; the Nats’ farm system is unfortunately not in the same league as their nearest neighbors and MASN overlords up I-95, and in particular is top-heavy as it usually is when it is good, with five prospects carrying the vast majority of the weight rather than the usual three or four. The perennial depth issues are exacerbated by a drafting and development system that has not produced a fully homegrown solid regular after the first round of the draft since Michael A. Tater was selected in the fifth round in (*checks notes*) 2009. Hopefully, new hires and reorganization produce more mildly promising debuts like Jake Irvin and fewer Rhett Wisemans (to use just one example, a 2015 third-rounder who made it as far as AA).

Thus, the major caveat with doing a sleeper prospect list for any organization but in particular the Nats is that the odds are infinitesimally small that any of these guys makes it to the majors even for a cup of coffee. However, for those among us who peruse the box scores from Rochester, Harrisburg, Wilmington, Fredericksburg, and possibly even West Palm Beach or the Dominican Republic, there are some guys out there with a sliver of a chance to make The Show. As Fran Fraschilla once famously said of Bruno Caboclo at the 2014 NBA Draft, they’re “two years away from being two years away” (Fraschilla was right on the money, by the way - Caboclo had his NBA career year in 2018-19 as a serviceable backup big for Memphis). I’ve taken a tiny bit of creative license with regard to placement in the field, but here are guys outside of our top thirty at each position as well as a pair of southpaw pitchers who are a little bit intriguing for one reason or another:

C Max Romero

• The Deets: 6’1”, 218 pounds, DOB 4/29/2001 (age 23 in 2024), played last year at R FCL Nats and A Fredericksburg, drafted 9th/261 in 2022
• The Stats: 63 G, .268/.413/.424, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 148 wRC+ (A)
• The Skinny: The Nats have four catchers under 28 with major league experience in the organization, so Romero is pretty far down the depth chart and mostly out of view. He played a year each at Vanderbilt and The U before being drafted, and apart from a nine-game cameo at Fredericksburg in his draft year has hit well wherever he’s been. Of note, he managed to make the roster of traditional Dominican powerhouse Licey this winter and go 2-for-6 with a double in his brief stint there. A catcher who can hit will always be intriguing, and if he manages to not get suffocated by the Christiana River effect in Wilmington this year he could rise in estimation.

1B T.J. White

• The Deets: 6’2”, 210 pounds, DOB 7/23/2003 (age 20 in 2024), played last year at A+ Wilmington, drafted 5th/143 in 2021
• The Stats: 77 G, .170/.277/.279, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 59 wRC+
• The Skinny: After a promising full-season debut in Fredericksburg in 2022, White was promoted to Wilmington and moved primarily to first base for 2023 in the aftermath of the Soto trade. He struggled mightily there, as the stat line shows…but he was also playing as a nineteen-year-old, over three years younger than the average age in the Sally League. White is a switch-hitter with a strong eye and some pop - his 99th percentile outcome is a Fun Size Josh Bell. Given his young age relative to his peers, a rebound in 2024 would make White at worst a good secondary trade chip for the pitching that the Nats so desperately need.

2B Jordy Barley

• The Deets: 5’11”, 175 pounds, DOB 12/23/1999 (age 24 in 2024), played last year at A+ Wilmington, AA Harrisburg, and AAA Rochester, acquired with Mason Thompson from the Padres for Daniel Hudson, 7/30/2021
• The Stats: 85 G, .235/.309/.359, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 34-38 SB, 93 wRC+ (AAA)
• The Skinny: Barley is actually a shortstop, but he has appeared sporadically at second base in his minor league career, so we’re sticking him here. He’s a toolsy guy with plus speed and a big arm who strikes out a ton, but he’s going to get a full year in Rochester to demonstrate that he could possibly be a utility infielder at the major league level. If his raw power ever translates into game power he will likely get that chance - the Nats did see fit to protect him in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft.

3B Nathaniel Ochoa Leyva

• The Deets: 6’4”, 215 pounds, DOB 10/15/2003 (age 20 in 2024), played last year at R FCL Nats, drafted 6th/171 in 2022
• The Stats: 28 G, .290/.371, 366, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 101 wRC+
• The Skinny: This Canadian infielder was drafted as a project almost two years ago and has yet to debut in full-season ball, but he showed a good hit tool and patience at the plate in Florida last summer while playing both the infield and outfield. He should be shuffling around the diamond in Fredericksburg this summer, both in the lineup and in the field - the fantasy outcome here is Ben Zobrist (who had a 45-WAR career and a World Series MVP), with any future promotion contingent on his performance in A-ball. The telling tool here will be his power - it’s surprising that a guy with his size has yet to go yard as a pro.

SS Armando Cruz

• The Deets: 5’10”, 160 pounds, DOB 1/16/2004 (age 20 in 2024), played last year at A Fredericksburg Nats, signed 1/15/2021
• The Stats: 90 G, .190/.266/.251, 3 HR, 33 RBI, 54 wRC+
• The Skinny: Cruz is probably the most familiar name on this list because he still cracks most outlets’ top 30 for the Nats (Jorgelys Mota edged him in ours). The Nats’ big signing from their 2021 international class for $3.9 million, Cruz has proven thus far to be an absolutely elite shortstop in the field…but has swung a wet noodle at the plate for three successive seasons. To be fair, he was a teenager in A-ball last year, almost two years younger than league average, but his soft contact could make Wilmington a nightmare if and when he makes it there. Still, there’s enough ceiling and glove here to imagine him carving out a future as a utility infielder.

OF Roismar Quintana

• The Deets: 6’1”, 175 pounds, DOB 2/6/2003 (age 21 in 2024), played last year at A Fredericksburg Nats, signed 7/2/2019
• The Stats: 92 G, .256/.349/.346, 4 HR, 41 RBI, 103 wRC+
• The Skinny: After losing the 2020 minor league season to the pandemic, the Venezuelan Quintana made a brief appearance in Florida in 2021 before playing fifty FCL games in 2022 and all of last year in the Carolina League. Signed for $820,000 as a bat-forward corner outfielder, Quintana played twice as many games on the dirt last year as a first baseman, but didn’t show the power worthy of the position. He’s someone whose progress with new minor league hitting coordinators is worth tracking closely - he has good raw power and walks at a decent clip. After some fits and starts to his professional career, there is still some hope that Quintana could get back into the prospect conversation.

OF Jared McKenzie

• The Deets: 6’0”, 180 pounds, DOB 5/16/2001 (age 23 in 2024), played last year at A+ Wilmington, drafted 5th/141 in 2022
• The Stats: 105 G, .212/.281/.320, 6 HR, 35 RBI, 67 wRC+
• The Skinny: McKenzie was a high-average, moderate-power guy at Baylor with some wheels, and his small-sample A-ball debut in his draft year was electric, as he hit .400 in 70 PA and stole 11 bags in 12 attempts. The wheels came off a bit last year at Wilmington, however (this is getting old - the Nats really need a new high-A affiliate), and he’s probably somewhere around the #12-#15 outfielder in the organization at this point. As a lefty, there’s still some hope that he can be the strong side of a platoon, but he will need to show more stick to get there.

OF Johnathon Thomas

• The Deets: 5’7”, 175 pounds, DOB 3/1/2000 (age 24 in 2024), played last year at A Fredericksburg Nats, drafted 19th/561 in 2022
• The Stats: 96 G, .226/.342/.297, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 65-77 SB, 93 wRC+
• The Skinny: The diminutive Thomas, who was the Nats’ penultimate 2022 pick out of Texas Southern University, was the organization’s Base Runner of the Year in 2023 thanks to an eye-popping 65 steals in 77 tries. Thomas doesn’t hit a ton, but he can draw a walk and also managed to get plunked 23 times. Is there a Billy Hamilton or Terrance Gore future in there? Thomas will likely start this season at high-A Wilmington, and if he survives that offensive dead zone well enough, then any promotions of James Wood or Dylan Crews could have a cascading effect for Thomas.

DH Will Frizzell

• The Deets: 6’3”, 225 pounds, DOB 2/21/1999 (age 25 in 2024), played last year at A+ Wilmington and AA Harrisburg, drafted 8th/233 in 2021

• The Stats: 98 G, .221/.375/.369, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 128 wRC+ (A+)

• The Skinny: If you’re looking for a Joey Meneses-style late-career breakout hitter, this is your guy. Frizzell hit nineteen bolts in his senior year at Texas A&M before getting selected by the Nats, and managed to crack double digits last year despite spending most of the season at Wilmington. He struggled after his promotion to the Eastern League, but should get a chance to be an everyday player at that level in 2024 (at least after Yohandy Morales gets promoted). Who knows? Perhaps Frizzell could have Clint Robinson or Tyler Moore’s career.

LHP Dustin Saenz

• The Deets: 5’11”, 197 pounds, DOB 6/2/1999 (age 25 in 2024), played last year at A+ Wilmington and AA Harrisburg, drafted 4th/112 in 2021
• The Stats: 23 GS, 123.1 IP, 31 BB, 97 K, 3.43 ERA, 1.184 WHIP
• The Skinny: In Saenz’s first two full seasons of pro ball, he has conquered one level before needing time to figure out the next in each season. In 2022 he handled Fredericksburg before struggling at Wilmington. His fifty innings at Wilmington to open 2023 were elite before a more pedestrian finish at Harrisburg. If the pattern continues, he could be in line to appear in the majors sometime in 2025. Saenz is not your typical Mike Rizzo pitcher - he wasn’t selected because of how he looks in a pair of jeans and he has demonstrated decent command at every level. The determining factor for Saenz will be if he can miss enough bats as he continues to progress; his strikeout rate fell to 5.2 per 9 after his June promotion.

LHP Andrew Alvarez

• The Deets: 6’3”, 215 pounds, DOB 6/13/1999 (age 25 in 2024), played last year at A+ Wilmington and AA Harrisburg, drafted 12th/353 in 2021
• The Stats: 22 GS, 129.1 IP, 43 BB, 116 K, 2.99 ERA, 1.168 WHIP
• The Skinny: Alvarez was the Nats’ minor league Pitcher of the Year in 2023, pitching very well at High-A for the bulk of the season and acceptably well in 26 Eastern League innings in August and September. He does a pretty good job of keeping the ball on the ground and avoiding the barrel, albeit without getting a ton of whiffs; he struck out less than a batter per inning last year. Like Saenz, he is probably going to start this season in AA and have a chance to earn a promotion to the International League if all goes well there. Both guys may well wind up relievers if anything, but it would be nice for the Nats to develop some of their own bullpen arms and depth starters for a change.

Again, if any of these guys turn into anything, it will be close to a miracle. But in a season where the outlook for the major league team is pretty grim, what better way to hold onto hope than dreaming of what these lesser lights in the minor league system can become at some point in the future?