Smolinski is a position player that was drafted this year by the Washington Nationals 70th overall. He is one of the reasons why the Nationals' farm system will start to get more attention. He was drafted right out of high school, Rockford Boylan High, which is in Illinois. In his senior season, he had a .441 BA, 13 HR, 13 doubles, 49 RBI, and 50 runs.
He followed this up with the Area Code Games (a series that displays some of the best High School Baseball Talent in the Nation), where he went 8 for 11, leading his team to a 5-0 record, which is the first time a Midwest Team won that tourny. (Information from studentsportsbaseball.com).
Professionally, after being drafted, he debuted with the GCL Nationals where during 28 games over 105 AB, he had 32 hits including a homer, and 16 RBI (.305 AB). Smolinkski is not in the top ten prospect list for the Nationals (from Baseball America) but Baseball America does list him as Best Hitter for Average. According to the write up, he just missed their top ten and he is going to be an OF prospect for the Nationals.
Overall, the Nationals system, according to Baseball America was the worst in Baseball a year ago, but after this year's draft, that is not the case. Furthermore, after that statement, the Nationals got Dukes and Milledge bringing more young talent to the team.
If have a prospect that you would like me to do a deeper look at, please email me at eteich@umd.edu
