The state of the farm system

Associated Press

Anthony Rendon should be rated the Nationals' top prospect entering 2013.

[UPDATE AT 11:30 A.M. -- Baseball America's 2013 top prospects list is now out. The Nats' top 10: Anthony Rendon, Lucas Giolito, Brian Goodwin, Matt Skole, Nathan Karns, Christian Garcia, Eury Perez, Sammy Solis, Matt Purke, Zach Walters. Here's a link to their full story, though you'll need to be a subscriber to access the full scouting reports on each player.]

It was roughly one year ago when Baseball America deemed the Nationals' farm system as the sport's preeminent assemblage of talent. For Mike Rizzo and his team of scouts and instructors, who for years had worked to rebuild a tattered system, it was the highest praise possible.

Later today, Baseball America will unveil its top 10 list of Nationals prospects for 2013, a list that won't be nearly as deep in talent as last year's was, certainly nowhere close to retaining the crown as the best farm system in baseball.

The Nationals aren't to blame for this drop-off. There are two perfectly good reasons for it: 1) Bryce Harper, Steve Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore are now established big leaguers and no longer considered prospects, and 2) a host of top prospects has since been traded away to acquire more established big leaguers who are

AFL season wraps up

US Presswire file photo

Anthony Rendon finished with a .338 average in 22 Arizona Fall League games.

While most of the country is busy preparing for Thanksgiving -- or watching a whole lot of football, as the case may be -- there were a select few professional baseball players still in action over the weekend.

The latest edition of the Arizona Fall League wrapped up Saturday when the Peoria Javelinas toppled the Salt River Rafters, 4-3, in the annual championship game, one that featured several Nationals prospects on the losing end.

Though their team came up short in the title game, a couple of Nats acquitted themselves quite well out in Arizona over the last six weeks.

Let's start with Anthony Rendon, who after a slow start to his AFL season finished strong, posting a .338 batting average, 10 doubles, 11 RBI, 15 walks and a .930 OPS in 22 regular season games. The 2011 first-round draft pick then went 1-for-4 with a triple in

Rendon heating up in Arizona

US Presswire file photo

Anthony Rendon has 10 hits in his last 21 at-bats in the Arizona Fall League.

After a slow start to his Arizona Fall League season, top Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon has gone on a tear at the plate over the last week.

Rendon has 10 hits in his last 21 at-bats for the Salt River Rafters, with three doubles, five RBI and four walks, to raise his AFL season batting average to .317. His seven total doubles are tied for the league lead, while his .411 on-base percentage ranks ninth among all the upper-level prospects participating this fall.

Rendon, the sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft, is one of the least experienced players in the AFL, having appeared in only 43 professional games, only 21 of them above Class A. (He missed most of this season with a fractured ankle.)

The 22-year-old third baseman, who received a major-league contract from the Nationals before the new collective bargaining

Arizona Fall League update

While the Fall Classic got off to a rousing (and unexpected) start last night, the Fall League is kicking into high gear out in Arizona.

A "finishing school" of sorts, the AFL features upper-level prospects from every organization in baseball, dispersed among six teams for a six-week season. Stephen Strasburg participated in 2009. Bryce Harper was there in both 2010 and 2011.

The Nationals don't boast anyone quite as prominent as those two this fall, but there are several notable names currently playing for the Salt River Rafters. Let's run through everyone on the roster to date...

3B ANTHONY RENDON
The Nationals' first-round pick in 2011 (sixth overall), Rendon is off to a bit of a sluggish start. In nine games, he's hitting .212 (7-for-33) with two doubles, three RBI (all of them coming on Oct. 17), six walks and eight strikeouts. He has only one hit over his last 14 at-bats, but the Nationals are less concerned with the 22-year-old's numbers and more concerned that he get significant playing time after missing most of the regular season with a fractured ankle.

OF BRIAN GOODWIN
Another 2011 draft pick (compensation for losing Adam Dunn to the White Sox), Goodwin has hit well so far in his AFL debut. In nine games, he's batting .286 (10-for-35) with three homers, two