Top Washington Nationals’ outfield prospects Victor Robles and Juan Soto were ranked on the Top 100 lists Baseball America and ESPN’s Keith Law released this week, and the Nats’ top minor leaguers have cracked the list of the Top 10 outfielders in baseball as ranked by MLB’s Pipeline scouts as well.
Robles, who was ranked third overall on BA’s Top 100 and fourth overall prospect on Law’s list, is also the third-highest ranked outfielder on MLB Pipeline’s list of the Top outfield prospects in baseball.
The Nationals’ 20-year-old prospect, who signed for $225,000 out of the Dominican Republic in 2013, is given a grade of a 60 “Hit” tool on the scouts’ 20-to-80 scale, with MLB.com’s Mike Rosenbaum writing that Robles, “... arguably has the most advanced bat,” among all of the outfield prospects on the list.
“His hitting ability stems from a combination of bat speed, bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline, while Robles’ top-of-the-scale speed enables him to create hits and turn singles into extra bases.”
Robles is also the highest-ranked prospect in terms of speed on the list (Run - 75), and his fielding abilities (Field - 70), with Rosenbaum noting that the Nationals’ prospect is, “... an elite defender in center field, so much so that some MLB executives view him as one of the Minor’s premier defensive players.”
Robles is also listed as having the Highest Floor of any of the outfield prospects on the list, with Rosenbaum writing that with his, “... pure hitting ability and on-base skills as well as elite speed and defense, Robles has all the ingredients to be an impactful player in the Major Leagues.”
Soto, 19, landed at No. 9 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10, after an injury-plagued 2017 season in which he put up a .351/.415/.505 line with six doubles, a triple, and three home runs in 123 plate appearances between the Nationals’ Low-A affiliate in Hagerstown and the Gulf Coast League Nationals.
Check out the complete list of MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 outfield prospects for 2018 here:
The final installment of our position rankings leading up to Saturday's #Top100Prospects: the Top 10 OF Prospects list, which is brimming with top-tier talent: https://t.co/zyP8x3K6xn pic.twitter.com/smzo7MlHd8
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 25, 2018