Stock Up, Stock Down for Washington Nationals' Top 10 Prospects for Week 3

While the Washington Nationals continue to experience more peaks and valleys than an EKG machine, it never hurts to look around Old Mike Rizzo's farm and take stock of the team's future big league contributors. 

Of Washington's top 10 prospects on MLB.com, only one—Michael Taylor—has made his major league debut. The rest are relative enigmas, paying their dues in the minors while the Nationals take advantage of a roster full of already-proven big leaguers. 

Washington has an above-average farm system and the luxury of time to allow its prospects to develop. But they can't hide from us. Not in Syracuse, nor Harrisburg, nor Potomac, nor anywhere else. So let's take a trip around the Nationals' minor league system and assess whose stock is up and who's trending in the wrong direction.

Bonus: SS Trea Turner

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Trea Turner is stuck in San Diego's farm system until late June.

2015 Stats (Double-A San Antonio): 15 G, .279 AVG, 17 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .763 OPS

Report: Trea Turner isn't technically a National yet, which is why he doesn't appear in the team's prospect rankings. 

The shortstop is stuck in San Diego's organization for the beginning of the season due to an archaic rule, but he's widely accepted as the player to be named later in Washington's December trade with the Padres. Sports Illustrated's Ben Reiter goes into greater detail about Turner's unique situation here. 

Turner is registering respectable numbers with San Diego's Double-A affiliate. And it's reasonable to expect a jump in his stats when he's actually a part of an organization and freed from the limbo to which he's currently resigned. 

Stock: Even

10. RHP Austin Voth

2015 Stats (Double-A Harrisburg): 2-1, 22.2 IP, 4.76 ERA, 19 SO, 1.24 WHIP

Report: So far this season, Austin Voth has three solid starts to his name for the Harrisburg Senators. But solid is one of the last words you'd choose to describe his fourth outing of 2015. 

After going exactly six innings in each of his first three starts, Voth was pulled after 4.2 innings Friday, allowing nine hits and seven earned runs in the game. The shaky outing inflated his ERA to 4.76 after sustaining an ERA of no worse than 3.00 through his first three appearances. 

On the bright side, Voth's stingy walk numbers have carried over to 2015. Through his first four starts, he's only walked four total batters. 

The season as a whole is trending towards success for Voth, who has a shot at reaching the majors 2016. But his latest outing was far and away his least impressive, and his seven earned runs were the most he's ever sacrificed in his two-plus years of pro baseball. 

Stock: Down

9. 3B Drew Ward

2015 Stats (Single-A Advanced Potomac): 14 G, .313 AVG, 15 H, 0 HR, 11 RBI, .740 OPS

Report: Drew Ward is a big-bodied, power-hitting infielder with the following red flags: limited athleticism at third base and an undeveloped eye at the plate. 

But the 6'4'', 210-pounder has helped tone down the knocks against him with a promising start to 2015. Ward has just one error through 14 games after finishing last season with 18 blunders. And his improved composure at the plate is evidenced by his diminished strikeout numbers.

Last season, Ward struck out at a rate higher than one in every four at-bats (121 SO/431 AB). This year, he's K'ed just nine times in 48 at-bats, all while maintaining an above-.300 batting average. 

Stock: Up

8. SS/2B Wilmer Difo

Associated Press

Wilmer Difo logged an impressive spring training before heading down the minors.

2015 Stats (Single-A Advanced Potomac): 17 G, .323 AVG, 21 H, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .966 OPS

Report: Wilmer Difo spent spring training with Washington's big league club, and not once did the 23-year-old look out of place against the heightened competition. 

Difo played 13 games in camp and put together a .318 average, including an outing that saw him ring up Tigers' ace David Price for two extra-base hits. After that game, manager Matt Williams shared some encouraging thoughts on Difo's future with Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post:

"

I just think that he's well on his way to being a big leaguer. It's early yet for him, hasn't even reached Double-A yet, but he can certainly hit a fastball, which is great. That's where you start. We've seen him swing at some bad breaking balls, too, but that's just being young.

"

So far this season, Difo has been able to maintain the lofty standards he set for himself in spring training. The versatile infielder leads the Potomac Nationals in batting average, hits, home runs and RBI while racking up the most at-bats on the time. 

Stock: Even

7. C Jakson Reetz

2014 Stats (Rookie Gulf Coast League Nationals): 43 G, .274 AVG, 32 H, 1 HR, 15 RBI, .796 OPS

Report: 2014 third-round draft choice Jakson Reetz had a shot to start the year at the Single-A level. But he'll have to wait for his 2015 debut as a member of the Gulf Coast League Nationals, who start their season in June.

But all recent reports out of the Nationals' organization that breach the subject of Jakson Reetz have been overwhelming positive. And if you ask Washington's catching coordinator, Michael Barrett, you'll get a response that elevates the narrative from positive to downright mythological. 

Barrett said via MASN's Byron Kerr: 

"

He's a special player with lots of tools and he's learning how to catch. He's come a long, long way. Anybody that doubted him a year ago, I promise you, wouldn't now after the improvements he made in his game in such a short period amount of time, not even a full year in professional baseball. The stuff that he's doing is shocking.

"

Stock: Up

6. RHP Erick Fedde

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Erick Fedde is on schedule in his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

No stats available. Fedde has yet to make his professional debut while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Report: As a fellow Las Vegas High School product, Bryce Harper became president of the Erick Fedde fan club when Washington drafted the latter with its first round selection in the 2014 draft.

"

Congrats to fellow teammate of mine in high school @ErickFedde on being drafted by the @Nationals! We got a great one DC! #Wildcat #LVpride

— Bryce Harper (@Bharper3407) June 6, 2014"

But Harper was in the minority as a supporter of the pick, because Fedde had undergone Tommy John surgery just two days before the draft. 

Now, after almost 11 months of recovery, the 22-year-old is getting closer to a professional debut.

According to a report from The Washington Post's James Wagner, Fedde logged his first post-surgery bullpen session at 75 percent effort in mid-March. The same article offers the last week of April as a timetable for Fedde's first live bullpen session, so that could be coming in the very near future. 

Stock: Even

5. RHP Joe Ross

Associated Press

Joe Ross bounced back from three rough outings with a gem in his fourth start.

2015 Stats (Double-A Harrisburg): 0-1, 20.0 IP, 3.60 ERA, 24 SO, 1.35 WHIP

Report: 2015 is Joe Ross's first rodeo in the Nationals' organization after coming over from the Padres this offseason. 

In his first three starts of the year for the Harrisburg Senators, Ross averaged just 4.1 innings per start and ballooned his ERA to 5.54. But an absolute dime of an outing Saturday has the 21-year-old back in contention to be the hidden gem of that December three-team trade. 

In his fourth start, Ross threw seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits and two walks. The performance dropped his ERA down to a palatable 3.60 and he tacked on eight strikeouts to put him at 24 on the year.

Stock: Up 

4. RHP Reynaldo Lopez

2014 Stats (Low Single-A Hagerstown and Single-A Short Season Auburn): 7-3, 83.1 IP, 1.08 ERA, 70 SO, 0.82 WHIP

Report: The Nationals have a well-documented tendency to err on the side of caution with their young arms. That's why righties Reynaldo Lopez and Lucas Giolito are still hanging around Viera, Florida at this early stage in the season, even though the former has not undergone Tommy John surgery. 

"We wanted to monitor everything they were doing," Nationals assistant general manager of player development Doug Harris said via The Washington Post's James Wagner. "Particularly because of the volume they had last year. There are no issues with them. They're two very talented young arms and we wanted to make sure of the safety of their arms."

Stock: Even

3. RHP A.J. Cole

Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

A.J. Cole could be in line for major league promotion following an injury to Max Scherzer.

2015 Stats (Triple-A Syracuse): 0-0, 15.0 IP, 2.40 ERA, 10 SO, 1.27 WHIP

Report: If A.J. Cole was part of any other organization, he might be in a big league rotation by now. But Washington has no fewer than six above-average starters on its 25-man roster, so Cole is still waiting on his major league debut. 

But thanks to a dominant start to the season and Max Scherzer's right thumb, the 23-year-old could end up in The Show as early as this week. With the Nationals' ace doubtful for his scheduled Tuesday start, Cole is on the short list for a call-up in Scherzer's absence, however short it may be. 

Cole's first three games of the season have set him up for major league consideration. He's allowed just four earned runs and walked one batter in those three starts. 

Stock: Up

2. CF Michael Taylor

Associated Press

Michael A. Taylor is still one of Washington's second-leading home run hitters thanks to his two early-season blasts.

2015 Stats (MLB): 12 G, .271 AVG, 13 H, 2 HR, 8 RBI, .814 OPS

2015 Stats (Triple-A Syracuse): 6 G, .400 AVG, 8 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1.028 OPS

Report: Michael Taylor's first 12 games as a regular starter were a mirror image of the accepted perception of him. Taylor is considered a speedy defensive maestro with a decent bat. But in the time he spent filling in for Denard Span, Taylor made uncharacteristic mistakes in the field and exceeded expectations at the plate. 

To this day, his two home runs are still good for second on the team in Washington. 

Since joining the Syracuse Chiefs upon Span's return from injury, Taylor has cleaned up his defense with no errors while continuing to rip the laces off the ball with a .400 average. 

Stock: Up

1. RHP Lucas Giolito

Associated Press

Lucas Giolito's arm is still being handled with care by the Nationals.

2014 Stats (Single-A Hagerstown): 10-2, 98.0 IP, 2.20 ERA, 110 SO, 1.00 WHIP

Report: Lucas Giolito is the crown jewel of Washington's farm system, and he's being treated as such. 

The 20-year-old No. 1 prospect is coming off a 2014 season in which he was every bit the superstar he was projected to be before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2012. Limited to 98 innings last year, Giolito went 10-2 with an impressive 2.20 ERA. 

Now, after that closely monitored 2014, the start of his 2015 season is being postponed while he continues to work out in Viera with Reynaldo Lopez. 

He's on the Auburn Doubledays' roster, so Giolito can be expected to make his season debut with the Single-A Short Season squad when its 2015 campaign kicks off in June. 

Stock: Even

*All stats courtesy of MiLB.com

Danny Garrison is a Washington Nationals Featured Columnist on Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @DannyLGarrison.

Follow @DannyLGarrison