WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – As the 67 players in big league camp retreat to the clubhouse following their daily workout here, they pass by another group of players in Nationals uniforms. They are younger, less experienced, though not necessarily less noticeable.
The organization’s top prospects who reported early for spring training ahead of the rank-and-file minor leaguers who will arrive in a few weeks are a physically impressive group. This is particularly obvious in the outfield, where James Wood, Robert Hassell III, Elijah Green and Cristhian Vaquero strike an imposing presence.
Add Jeremy De La Rosa (already in major league camp after he was added to the 40-man roster over the winter) to the mix, and the Nationals have every reason to believe they’ve got at least three future outfield studs in their farm system right now.
For these young players, the opportunity to work out alongside each other this spring is superseded only by the possibility of playing alongside each other in D.C. someday down the road.
“It’s exciting, for sure,” the 6-foot-7 Wood said Sunday. “I just want to get up there and keep doing my thing. And hopefully that becomes reality pretty soon.”