Baseball America's Washington Nationals Projected 2011 Lineup... as predicted in 2007
As many of you know, each year Baseball America releases it's almost iconic list of top ten prospects for each organization. Along with this list they provide scouting reports, the top players for each skill, and a projected lineup for the club four years into the future. The idea here is to give the reader an idea of how the team will look when their prospects develop. In 2007 the publication released the Nationals top 10 prospects (Cris Marrero topped the list) as well as their projected lineup for the club in 2011. It was as follows:
| Catcher | Jesus Flores |
| First Base | Chris Marrero |
| Second Base | Stephen King |
| Third Base | Ryan Zimmerman |
| Shortstop | Ian Desmond |
| Left Field | Wily Mo Pena |
| Center Field | Justin Maxwell |
| Right Field | Michael Burgess |
| No. 1 Starter | Ross Detwiler |
| No. 2 Starter | Collin Balester |
| No. 3 Starter | Jack McGeary |
| No. 4 Starter | Josh Smoker |
| No. 5 Starter | Jordan Zimmerman |
| Closer | Chad Cordero |
Take a minute to soak that all in. Baseball America projected that by this spring Ross Detwiler and Collin Balester would provide a potent one-two punch at the top of our rotation while Justin Maxwell, Michael Burgess, and Wily Mo Freakin Pena would roam our outfield.
I don't know if this is an indictment on our developmental system, poor scouting, or an indication that we all should take less stock in prospects, but it's interesting how incredibly off this list is.
Jesus Flores of course has been injured, but Wily Mo Pena is essentially out of baseball at this point, Stephen King is stuck in Single A. Jack McGeary and Josh Smoker couldn't seem further away from the major leagues and Collin Balester has proven his inability to make outs at the major league level.
Justin Maxwell and Michael Burgess were both promising outfielders but both have fizzled tremendously. And Chris Marrero, the Nationals top prospect when this list was made, has yet to even come close to a cup of coffee.
Essentially of the nine players on this list who had not had previous significant major league experience, only two of them are projected to be everyday players for the Nationals next year; Zimmermann and Desmond.
