Baseball America - Carolina League Top 20

Baseball America touches on their Carolina League Top 20 prospects. Three Nats make the cut. 7. Armando Galarraga, rhp, Potomac 15. Kory Casto, 3b, Potomac 17. Frank Diaz, of, Potomac UPDATE: Nats Q/A today produced these Nats related ones Q: Who would u think is a better Pitching Prospect In the Nat orgnization Gallaraga or Balester or who has more potential A: I'm a HUGE Galarraga guy. Just the body, the ultra-clean delivery, electric stuff and the competitiveness—it's all there. I'd take him over Balester. Q: Did Casto's age work against him in any kind of a major way? A: It did, but not that much. He would easily be tagged the most improved player from a defensive standpoint in the league this season. You almost have to throw out his age when considering how much time he’s spent at third base, so he's on a different timetable than most. With Ryan Zimmerman in the organization though, all that work at third might go to waste. I smell a position change here, mainly because you can't ignore Casto’s bat. Q: Who's is the better defensive shortstop Ian Desmond or Robert Valido? A: Valido is leaps and bounds ahead of him, though he's a year older. Desmond wasn't overly impressive in any phase of the game, and though defense is his calling card, managers crushed him in this league. Valido did it all for the entire season, and if you're ranking SS in this league, Desmond is probably no. 5 or 6 on that list. Q: Correct me if I am wrong But are you saying that Armando Galarraga is the Nats best pitching prospect ahead of Michael Hinckley and Daryl Thompson? A: I think he's ahead of both those guys right now, but you're forgetting about Clint Everts. Q: what about, in talking about nat's pitching prospects, michael o'connor (who was the nationals minor league pitcher of the year)? - and, lastly, any love for josh whitesell and salomon manriquez? A: Michael O'Connor has solid stuff, big swing and miss fastball. He's a top 30 guy in my opinion. Whitesell got some love, but was behind Head at first base. Manriquez had an outstanding offensive year, not so much with the defense, but the bat really came to life. I need to see more out of that production to believe it's for real though.