Barrett begins throwing; more prospect watch on Giolito and Turner

On Monday, left-hander Gio Gonzalez showed a video on Instagram of his first flat ground throwing session of the new year. It was just some standard warm-up for Gonzalez as he prepares once again for a major role in the Nationals starting rotation in 2016.

But yesterday, maybe a more significant video from a Nationals pitcher was posted. Last Sept. 3, reliever Aaron Barrett underwent Tommy John surgery and then had a procedure to repair bone spurs and bone chips in his left ankle on Dec. 3. On Wednesday, Barrett posted a short video of his throwing session five months out from his Tommy John procedure.

Happy 5 months! I sure have missed that sound! #TJ #Comeback @Nationals @MLB pic.twitter.com/DlGu5sr9vL

-- Aaron Barrett (@aaronbarrett30) February 3, 2016

It usually takes pitchers somewhere between 12-16 months before they return to the mound in the majors following Tommy John.

"Personally, I'm not circling Sept. 3, which is a year exact from my surgery," Barrett said earlier this offseason. "I'm not sitting there saying, 'I have to be in the big leagues by Sept. 3,' because I think I'm going to set myself up for failure. Just because you just don't know if I'm going to be able to come back in 10 months or 14 months. But my goal in mind is that I'm going to work my tail off to get back in the big leagues next year."

Barrett was impressive in his 2014 rookie season, when he posted a 2.66 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 20 walks over 40 2/3 innings. Last season, the 28-year-old experienced inconsistency as he pitched through discomfort, posting a 4.60 ERA and 35 strikeouts across 29 1/3 innings over 40 appearances before his season ended prematurely.

* The Nationals had four players - right-hander Lucas Giolito, infielder Trea Turner, outfielder Victor Robles and right-hander Erick Fedde - on MLB.com's top 100 prospects list released last week.

Giolito led the way, ranking third overall and the highest pitching prospect in baseball. The hard-throwing 21-year-old will experience his first big league spring training with the Nationals when pitchers and catchers report to Space Coast Stadium in just over two weeks. The question every Nats fan wants to know, though, is whether Giolito will make his debut in the majors at some point this season.

"We're committed to building a foundation with him, but it's still a work in progress at this point," Nationals assistant general manager and vice president of player personnel Doug Harris said yesterday on MLB Network's "MLB Now." "We were able to get him to a higher level of baseball last year and kind of expand his innings. He stayed on course every fifth day throughout the course of the year. We challenged him with some details that he's gonna have to accomplish to be able to pitch successfully in the major leagues, and he's on his way to doing that."

Meanwhile, Turner, ranked as MLB.com's 11th best prospect, is expected to compete for a spot on the Nationals' 25-man roster when spring training begins after already receiving his first taste of the majors late last season.

"I think it's just Trea continuing his evolution," Harris told MLB Network. "I thought he did a fantastic job last year. He was challenged in multiple organizations and multiple levels. He handled the situation with a great deal of maturity and poise. We brought him to the big leagues in September last year and he was exposed to baseball at the highest level. I think he learned that and is ready to come in and compete in spring training and see where it takes us."