Washington Nationals: Built for an Extremely Bright Future

The Washington Nationals make headlines any time Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper play well, play poorly, get sick, tell a joke or go to a movie. 

It is blatantly obvious that the franchise is tied to its two young superstars more than any other organization in baseball. 

What the average MLB fan remains unaware of, however, is that these two stars are surrounded by a plethora of young, talented prospects waiting to break out and become stars. 

Simply put, the Washington Nationals are built for the future.

Let’s examine the Nats' current roster, the seventh-youngest in all of baseball with an average age of 27.8. 

They are younger than all of their division rivals.  Their position players are a talented group of youngsters, including catcher Wilson Ramos (23), second baseman Danny Espinosa (24), shortstop Ian Desmond (25) and All-Star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (26). 

The veteran of the infield is silver slugger candidate Michael Morse at the ripe age of 29.  This is likely the youngest infield in baseball.

The Nationals' pitchers include a bunch of young and deceptive arms that have kept the GM's phone buzzing all season. 

Jordan Zimmermann (25) has fully recovered from Tommy John surgery.  Another member of the Nats rotation, John Lannan (26), has figured it out in his fourth year in the bigs. 

The bullpen is filled with lively arms, including closer Drew Storen (23), Tyler Clippard (26), Ryan Mattheus (27), Henry Rodriguez (24) and former first-round pick Ross Detwiler (25).

The minor league system is also littered with young ballplayers with bright MLB futures. The following farmhands are guys we may be seeing sooner rather than later: 

Brad Peacock (23) and lefty Tom Milone (24) could see major league action before the end of the year.  First baseman Chris Marrero (23) has elevated through the farm system and is hitting .309 with 14 HRs and 67 RBI in AAA. 

Nationals fans should be equally excited about seeing Steve Lombardozzi, son of Steve Sr., former World Series champion with the Twins.  Lombardozzi (22) has hit for average everywhere he’s been, and this includes the .320 he’s belted out in AAA this year.

This past draft, the Nationals picked and signed a stunning group of talent.

They got touted hitting prospect third baseman Anthony Rendon, 6-9 RHP Alex Meyer (who reaches 100 mph with his fastball), outfielder Brian Goodwin (who hit .382 last year at Miami Dade College), and LHP Matt Purke (who has rotation possibility when healthy).

The Nationals made a lot of noise this offseason by signing five-tool right fielder Jayson Werth for $126 million over seven years. 

What people fail to realize is that they still have the eighth-lowest payroll at almost $58 million this year. 

To put it in perspective, the Phillies' payroll this year is almost $173 million. 

If the Nationals make a play on adding a coveted free agent or two this summer, expect a lot more than .500 ball out of DC.

Oh yeah, Strasburg/Harper update—Strasburg’s rehab process has gone exceptional, he’ll rehab again Wednesday.  Bryce Harper has hit .298 with 17 HRs, 58 RBI and 26 SBs this year as he slowly climbs the minor league ladder.

You don’t need a crystal ball to figure out what the Nationals future looks like.

retain their top-flight status