Wire Taps: Washington Nationals + Ryan Zimmerman = feel-good story; The Strasburg Shutdown in hindsight + more Nats links...

Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia made MLB Pipeline and Baseball America’s top prospects lists for 2020, but no pitchers did.

Ron Darling talked about the Strasburg Shutdown, and Stephen Strasburg’s apparently the pitcher Dansby Swanson likes facing the least.

Ryan Zimmerman’s one-year deal with the Nationals means there will be at least one more season in D.C. for the ‘05 1st Round pick.

There’s a weekend’s worth of news for you to catch up on below. Go read your links...

NATS BEAT:

Top prospect lists still lacking Nationals pitchers - (MASN)
"Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline released their annual lists of the top 100 prospects last week, and in each case only two members of the Nationals organization made the cut: Carter Kieboom and Luis Garcia."

Braves' Dansby Swanson admits he hates facing Stephen Strasburg - (NBC Sports Washington)
"Swanson is 6-for-27 (.222) with one home run and 15 strikeouts against Strasburg, making it understandable why he'd hate facing the Nationals starter."

Ron Darling believes Nationals are vindicated for Strasburg shutdown - (NBC Sports Washington)
"Although he believes putting Strasburg’s health first was the right thing to do, Darling does think the Nationals could’ve handled the situation better from a public relations standpoint."

The ramifications of Ryan Zimmerman's new contract - (MASN)
"This deal is a bargain for the Nats. Zimmerman insisted all along he was willing to take a significant pay cut in order to return for his 16th season with the organization that made him its first draft pick, and he wasn’t kidding."

NATIONAL(S) BEAT:

Ryan Zimmerman’s Return To Washington Nationals Is A Feel-Good Story - (Forbes)
"And Zimmerman, after an offseason of saying that he would only play for the Nats or else he would retire, gets to run it back with a slightly re-tooled team that should still be a playoff and championship contender."

The Top 100 prospects for 2020, team by team - (MLB.com)
"Washington’s had at least two Top 100 prospects on nine consecutive preseason lists dating back to 2012, and this year is the sixth straight in which the organization has placed a player inside the top 25."

Fredericksburg Nationals management touts potential of current and future stars playing in city - (fredericksburg.com)
"At each rung of the Washington Nationals’ organization, there’s a rule that each prospect—no matter his power or profile—must lay down a bunt during the final few innings of a game at least once."

Sunday Notes: Julio Rodriguez Projects as the Future Face of the Mariners - (FanGraphs)
"Mondry-Cohen told me that the roughly 120 people who have access to 'The Pentagon' include front office members, coaches and managers at both the big-league and minor-league levels, coordinators, and scouts."

Teams That Gained Or Lost Draft Picks Via Qualifying Offer Free Agents - (MLB Trade Rumors)
"The Mets, Cardinals, Braves, Giants, Nationals, and Astros all aren’t revenue-sharing recipients, nor did they exceed the luxury tax threshold in 2019, so all six teams will receive a compensatory draft pick between Competitive Balance Round B and the third round of the 2020 draft."

NL EAST UPDATES:

What they're saying about the Phillies: How good is the roster? How high should expectations actually be? - (PhillyVoice)
"But despite spending millions upon millions to add pieces like Zack Wheeler, Didi Gregoruis and a World Series-winning manager in Joe Girardi, the baseball watching world is extremely skeptical."

John Altobelli, former coach of Mets' Jeff McNeil, killed in same helicopter crash that took Kobe Bryant's life - (Newsday)
"John Altobelli, the longtime baseball coach at Orange Coast College, was killed along with his wife and daughter in the helicopter crash Sunday..."

Source: Marlins add veteran OF Matt Joyce - (MLB.com)
"The Marlins have agreed to a deal with veteran outfielder Matt Joyce, a source told MLB.com's Mark Feinsand."

Leadoff: Anthopoulos tells Braves fans of directive from McGuirk - (AJC.com)
"While the Braves’ projected opening-day payroll currently hovers around $150 million, general manager Alex Anthopoulos suggested to fans over the weekend that he has authorization from his boss to spend more."