Washington Nationals: Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects 2009.

In November 2007, the first four players (and five prospects total) selected by the Washington Nationals in the '07 First-Year Player Draft found their way onto Baseball America's Aaron Fitt's 11/7/07 list of the Top 10 Prospects in the DC system. LHP Ross Detwiler, the Nationals' first 1st Round pick, taken sixth overall, immediately became the #2 prospect in the organization according to Mr. Fitt, behind only '06 1st Round pick Chris Marrero, an IF/OF taken 15th overall who, himself, had become the No. 2 prospect in his Draft year, and was now No. 1 overall. Michael Burgess an outfielder taken with the 49th pick of the 1st Round in 2007, as compensation for the LA Angels having signed Jose Guillen, became the 4th best prospect in the system, ahead of left-handers Jack McGeary (5), who was taken in the 6th Round in '07, and Josh Smoker (6), taken 31st overall in the 1st Round, as a compensation pick from the Cubs who'd signed Alfonso Soriano, as was Jordan Zimmermann, a RHP out of Auburndale, Wisconsin who debuted on the list at No. 7 after being selected with the 67th overall pick in the 2nd Round of the draft.

• '08-'09 After The JUMP...

Aaron Crow, the right-hander the Nationals selected with the 9th overall pick in the 1st Round of the 2008 Draft, almost certainly would have joined pitchers Jordan Zimmermann (1) and Ross Detwiler (2) atop Baseball America's Aaron Fitt's January '09 list of Washington's Top 10 Prospects...had he signed with the Nationals...2nd Round pick, outfielder Destin Hood, an eighteen-year-old out of Eight Mile, Alabama, made the highest debut on the list at No. 6, one spot ahead of Washington's 5th Round pick, catcher Adrian Nieto, a backstop out of Havana, Cuba and American Heritage High School in Florida, and two spots ahead of '08 15th Round pick J.P. Ramirez, then an 18-year-old outfielder from New Braunfels, Texas, who was described by Baseball America's Mr. Fitt as one of, "...a pair of high-ceiling prep outfielders," taken by the Nationals, along with Hood. 

The Nationals' '09 Draft Class took over three spots on the lastest Top 10 List according to Baseball America's Aaron Fitt's November 2009 rankings of the organization's top prospects, with the '08 Class accounting for just two of the top ten, (No. 5 - SS Danny Espinosa, and No. 10 - OF Destin Hood), while the '07 Class produced the second-best prospect overall in Mr. Fitt's view, Derek Norris, the top-ranked catcher in the DC system for the second-straight year, who moved up from the sixth overall spot on the list to No. 2, and OF Michael Burgess, who drops from 4th in '08 to 9th of 10 in '09. '06 1st Round pick Chris Marrero (6) is still the top 1B prospect in the Nationals' system, though he drops three spots from last year to 6th overall, with 2004 3rd Rounder Ian Desmond (4) returning to the List for the first time since 2007 as the top shortstop in the system just ahead of Espinosa. Which leaves the No. 1 overall spot on Mr. Fitt's list, which goes to Stephen Strasburg, the Nationals' '09 1st overall pick; the No. 3 spot, which goes to the Nationals' second 1st Round pick, Drew Storen, taken 10th overall as compensation for Crow, and the 7th spot on Mr. Fitt's list, which goes to '09 2nd Round pick Jeff Kobernus, the first DC second baseman to make Baseball America's list since...well, ever.