BULLET-POINT STYLE!

• Brian Oliver, one of the hardest working bloggers in the Natosphere, is hanging up his spikes.  It's devastating news to me, because I can't write anything about the minor leagues without having his "Big Board" open to consult all the minor league rosters in one place.  Seriously though, Brian was one of the originals to write about the team, and was one of the five credentialed blogs to cover the team this season.  It was an honor and privilege to sit beside him in the press box.  There are some newcomers to covering the Nats minor league system, and they do a good job, but Brian has sources up and down the east coast, and his input will be sorely missed.
  
  
• It's September 1, so that mean the team can add players to the roster from the minors.  I think we'll see a few guys recalled once the minor league season is over (or their team is out of the playoffs), but I don't think we'll see a ton of guys brought up.  Most of the close young talent is here already.  I think Wilson Ramos and Danny Espinosa are the two most intriguing names as far as position players.  Ramos will most certainly be recalled, and I have been on record saying that I doubted that Espinosa would make the jump.  I could be wrong though, as rumors have been floating around all morning about the subject.
  
  
• As far as pitching callups, we'll definitely see Yunesky Maya, the Cuban expatriate, and Ross Detwiler, both candidates for what promises to be a much improved rotation next season, with or without No. 37.  We could also see starter Matt Chico,as a reward for his hard work and quality season coming back from his own injury.  Relievers that could get a call include Collin Balester, Chuck James and even Jason Bergmann (remember him?).
  
  
• Hopefully Stephen Strasburg watched Jordan Zimmermann's dominating performance last night, and it buoys his spirits as he heads toward his own Tommy John surgery -- scheduled for this Friday -- to be performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum.  Zimmermann was much strogner and sharper last night than in this 2010 debut, and the numbers prove it out:  6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 9 Ks.  He'll be closely watched and on a pitch count the rest of the season, but every time out Zimmermann's going to feel better about his breaking stuff, which was pretty darn good last night anyway.
  
  
• Finally, after last night's quotes from a couple of the Marlins players during the post-game, expect Nyjer Morgan to get a fastball to the rib cage his first at bat after taking out catcher Brett Hayes in the tenth inning in last night's 1-0 loss. 

The Hardball Times released their Top 10 prospects list for the Washington Nationals today.  Not much surprise, however, only three of their top ten were arms, the rest position players.

1. Stephen Strasburg: Perhaps the best college pitcher of all time, Strasburg brings unheralded hype and ability to a Washington organization desperate for a shot in the arm. He is the best pitching prospect in baseball and will challenge Atlanta's Jason Heyward as my preseason No. 1 prospect in baseball.

2. Derek Norris: Despite his high strikeout rate, Norris has the bat of a future All-Star. The most unheralded aspect of his season was the 90 walks he drew in 437 at-bats. His defense is on track for the majors, but needs some work. If he repeats his performance in 2010, we may be looking at a top-10 prospect in all of baseball. But he does need to do it again if he is going to win me over.

3. Danny Espinosa: Despite some holes in his swing, Espinosa has a bit of everything you look for in a shortstop, including above-average power and the glove to match.

4. Christopher Marrero: Marrero has a nice bat, but nothing about it sticks out, especially as a first baseman. He is still young, and with further progression Washington could have a major league asset at first base.

5. Drew Storen: I was surprised to see Storen go as high as he did in the 2009 draft, but his first 37 minor league innings opened my eyes. There is even talk that Washington may turn him into a starter, which would raise his value immensely, but his change-up needs refinement if that is going to happen. There is a lot to like. More than I initially thought.

6. Ian Desmond: Desmond has some workable power and base-stealing ability, but neither skill be will anything more than average in the majors. His defense is his best strength, and his average bat will make sure he has a long, solid career as a major league shortstop.

7. Eury Perez: Perez has flashed his potential at every stop he has made. His bat seems very advanced for his age, his speed will be a weapon, and he has even shown some unexpected power.

8. Destin Hood: With his raw tools, Hood was one of my favorite players selected in the second round of the 2008 draft. Not much has materialized as of yet, which is concerning for me, but he is very young.

9. Michael Burgess: Burgess has plus power, but not much else to go with it. His strikeout rate is troublesome and may be his downfall. Future refinement could be in the works, so it's not time to give up on him yet.

10. Marcos Frias: Scouting reports are tough to come by on Frias, but his numbers are hard to ignore, forcing my bullish outlook. Based off of the brief video and scouting reports I have on him, I am going to take a shot in the dark on a young man with a live arm.

NFA complied his Top 20 lists a couple weeks back, and he separated them out into arms and bats.  He's not as high on Eury Perez or Marco Frias as HT was, but most of the rest of the lists jive.

It will be very interesting to see when Baseball America comes out with their scouting reports where the Nationals rank this season.  You may remember, last off-season the Nats farm system was severely downgraded from 2007's encouraging reviews. 

Most major scouting publications had the Nats in the lower-third of the league as far as minor league talent. 

With the infusion of Strasburg and Storen, two almost-ready arms that should be pitching in Washington before the all-star break, it will bear watching if the Nats get an artificial bump in the rankings this season, only to fall once again next season after Stras and Storen graduate to the majors -- or if general manager Mike Rizzo can have another good draft (he does own the No. 1 overall pick) and keep the Nats prospects rankings high.

Brian over at Nationals Farm Authority, one of the best blogs we have in the Natosphere, has a comprehensive interview with Keith Law, former Toronto Blue Jays executive and former writer for Baseball Prospectus. He currently is a blogger/columnist for ESPN.com.

Law is candid, engaging and comprehensive in his opinions he shared with Brian, and Brian asked all the right questions. If you're reading my blog, then you definitely want to take the 10 minutes to click on the link above and read this interview.

It should be mandatory reading for some of the Nats' less-nuanced fans as well, as Law's opinions take the candy-coating off the public relations the Nats themselves and MLB.com provide and gives a more honest, critical assessment of some of the players in the organization that tend to get overhyped.

Congrats to Brian on a fantastic interview.