Three Top Prospects, Son of MLB Legend Sent To Minors by Washington Nationals
Camp cuts are continuing around the league, and the Washington Nationals made some notable ones on March 17.
Per an announcement by the team, they reassigned outfielder Daylen Lile and infielders Cayden Wallace and Yohandy Morales to minor league camp, while also optioning infielder Darren Baker to their Triple-A affiliate.
All four players are high-profile when it comes to the Nationals.
Lile is ranked 10th in their pipeline. Wallace is 11th and Morales is 13th. Baker is the son of MLB legend and former Washington skipper Dusty Baker.
While none of these players were expected to make the Opening Day roster, it also is pretty telling about where each of them stand when it comes to their futures with the organization.
Lile was a second-round pick by the Nationals in 2021. He has a solid career minor league slash line of .262/.351/.406 that really features two full years of professional baseball, but the highest affiliate level he's reached is Double-A.
That makes it hard when it comes to his outlook.
James Wood, Dylan Crews and Jacob Young are the three starting outfielders who are all young and could be holding those roles for the foreseeable future. Robert Hassell III is also in the mix if he can perform well at the plate.
While Lile is the highest-ranked outfield prospect Washington currently has outside of Crews, there is a massive roadblock in front of him that creates a murky future.
Same thing with Wallace.
Third base is a question mark for this franchise with none of the young players giving the front office confidence any of them could own that position for themselves this year. That caused them to sign veteran Paul DeJong to a short-term deal and move him to the hot corner.
Wallace is a new face for the Nationals, having been acquired ahead of last year's trade deadline as the featured part of the Hunter Harvey deal with the Kansas City Royals.
Having only reached Double-A himself as his highest affiliate level, he'll have to prove he should be in consideration for a third base spot in a crowded room full of viable options.
Morales could have the clearest path to a role out of this group.
After being taken in the second round of the 2023 draft, the slugger has done nothing but hit in the minors with a career .308/.389/.446 slash line, although his power is lacking so far with just seven homers in 117 games.
Still, the 23-year-old could be the future first baseman for Washington depending on what happens with Nathaniel Lowe, this offseason's notable acquisition.
Baker is the only player out of these four who has Major League experience.
He showed well when he was called up last year, going 7-for-14 with two doubles and just three strikeouts across the nine games he appeared in, a great performance in a small sample size.
But how he fits into the bigger picture is unclear.
Getting the majority of his work at second base, that is a position that is already filled by Luis Garcia Jr. coming off his breakout season. And with Baker's other primary defensive spot being left field, it'll be hard for him to get onto the field in any capacity.
Perhaps he could be a super utility player for the Nationals during his career, filling in at multiple positions while also being a solid hitter like he has shown to be since getting taken in the 10th round of the 2021 draft.
All of that will be decided in the future for these four players.
But for right now, they continue their careers on the farm.
