Today's Baseball Prospect of the Day

Chris Marrero is a power hitting corner outfield / first base prospect, the top minor league player on the Washington Nationals. Drafted out of high school in Florida in the first round of 2006, he was a bit of a steal for the Nats, going 15th overall. He had been passed up by a number of teams who put too much stock in an injury-dampened senior year, but the Nats did extra homework and learned that with a minor adjustment, Marrero could be returned to his All-American junior year approach.

The Washington brain trust looked brilliant as Marrero zoomed past rookie ball in Sally League Hagerstown for 2007. He swatted the ball to a .293/.337/.545 tune while homering 14 times in less than two months. Moved up to Potomac in the tougher Carolina League, Marrero mashed 11 more in 68 games against better pitching.

Marrero is a right-handed player who can play either outfield corner or first base. His swing isn't as long as some scouting reports claim, especially those based on his high school play. He has easy power to all fields thanks to very good bat speed and a sharp skill for making square contact. In the field he's below average despite having a great arm, which is what prompted the outfield-rich Nats to move him to first base full-time. He's still learning the fielding but he's already shown decent foot and glove-work, so he should stick at the position. His below average speed shouldn't be too much of a problem, since he's a smart and heads-up baserunner who shouldn't cause many problems.

In the spring of 2008, Marrero was the most-likely teenager to get a chance at the big leagues in Washington, almost making the team out of Spring Training. Instead, though, he went back to high-A Potomac for more seasoning.

Marrero is the class of the Nationals' farm system right now, though, so it's just a matter of time before he takes a half season or so at AA and then jjoins the big squad. When he does, he should hang around for a good long while.

Update: Sadly, Marrero not only failed to get the AA promotion he deserved at midseason, he received an extended vacation instead. After hitting 11 more homers in 256 at-bats at Potomac, he was preparing for a move up to AA when he broke his fibula and two tendons in his ankle on an ugly slide into home. The two surgeries mean the end of the season for Marrero, who was hittinga nice .250/.325/.453 on the year.

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Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Birthdate: 7/2/1988

Bats: R

Throws: R

Team: WAS

Birthplace: Miami, FL

College: Pace HS, Opa Locka, Fla.

ABs pre-2008: 0